When is supervised visitation or parenting time necessary? Child custody and parenting time issues can represent the most contentious areas of many Louisville and Jefferson County divorce cases. Kentucky law establishes the need for a child to regularly spend quality time with each parent following a divorce. What happens when it is unsafe or not in a child’s best interest to be left alone with a parent?
The Court may order “supervised visitation” in these cases. During supervised visitation periods the parent’s time with the child must be supervised by a third party. These orders will often include the specific time and location of supervised visits as well as the duration of the visit.
The supervision can be conducted by qualified professionals, family or friends of whom the court approves as well as mental health professionals. In some cases supervision may involve video monitoring, telephone monitoring or some other manner of supervision.
There are specific circumstances where a court may elect to order supervised visitation including, but not limited to:
- The presence of domestic violence, physical or mental abuse or neglect
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- A threat of abduction or relocation out of the area, state or country
- When either a parent or a household member of the location to be visited is a registered sex offender
- Mental illness
- Specific violent criminal convictions
- Reintroduction – a parent who has been absent for a long time is becoming reacquainted with a child
Supervised visitation or parenting time may be necessary if the Court has found evidence a child’s safety may be in question, and supervised visitation or parenting time is necessary to safeguard the child from present or future harm.
One should be cautious when making accusations against a former spouse. False accusations of sex abuse or domestic violence in order to gain an advantage or prevent the other party from visitation and parenting time can backfire, resulting in supervised visitation orders for the parent making false accusations.
The family law attorneys at Dodd & Dodd have decades of experience in divorce and child custody cases here in Louisville. If you are concerned about supervised visitation or parenting time or have been falsely accused of domestic violence or sexual abuse and need experienced effective representation in your divorce case we invite you to review the recommendations of our clients and contact us or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.
