In Michigan, child visitation agreements are part of a normal divorce process when children are involved – but also with unmarried couples as well. When child custody is decided and visitation is awarded, one parent will be given either supervised or unsupervised visitation. Supervised visitation is generally awarded when a parent is seen as “unfit” because of having a mental illness, heath issue, alcohol or drug dependency or criminal history. Our Michigan visitation lawyers in wayne county, oakland or Macomb county will help you achieve a parenting time schedule that makes sense for you and your child.
Visitation Rights
Your parenting time schedule is the calendar that defines when your child will be with you and when your child will be with the other parent. Your parenting time schedule will say where your child will be on holidays, extended vacations, spring breaks and school breaks. Non-custodial parents are generally granted visitation rights. Some visitation options that may be available to parents are as follows:
Co-parenting (where each parent has child 50% of the time)
Summer and extended-vacation visitation
Alternate weekends
Weekday visitation
Holiday visitation
What is Supervised Visitation?
Many situations in domestic cases such as divorce, paternity, or guardianship actions can lead to a situation where a court orders that one party's visitation with his or her minor children be supervised by a professional third party. A parent who believes a child is in imminent physical or emotional danger due to parenting time or contact with the other parent may ask the court to restrict such contact, and the court will hold a hearing on the issue. A judge may order supervised visitation for many reasons such as:
1) when there is a history or allegations of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, or substance
abuse;
2) when there are parenting concerns or mental illness; or
3) when there is a parental threat of abduction.
Please be advised that alcohol and drug addiction can play a role in supervised child visitation being ordered by the court.
Grandparent visitation rights
On January 3, 2005, Michigan Governor signed into law a new grandparent visitation law. Michigan allows grandparents to sue for visitation rights to their grandchildren under certain circumstances if they have been denied such rights by the parents. The law creates new rights for grandparents and grandchildren in the State of Michigan to seek visitation. Under the new law, Michigan grandparents have the ability to seek visitation every two years.
MCL 722.27b allows grandparents to request relief from the court to see their grandchildren if they have been denied by the parent in any of the following circumstances:
1. If there is a divorce, separate maintenance, or annulment action pending between the child's parents, or such an action has already been finalized; or
2. The grandchild was born out-of-wedlock and the parents are not living together. However, this only applies to grandparents of the alleged father if he has been declared legally to be the father of the child by a proper court proceeding and the child's father provides child support in accordance with his ability to provide support or care for his child; or
3. Legal custody of the child has been given to a person other than the child's parent or the child does not live in the parent's home. This is other than a child who has been adopted by a person who is not the child's step-parent; or
4. A grandparent has taken care of a grandchild during the year before they request visitation, whether or not they have done so by a valid court order.
Our divorce and child support attorneys can assist you with any of the following:
