When judges are called upon to decide custody cases, they often do so with the intention of doing what’s in the best interest of the child. In many cases, this involves them making decisions to award joint custody to both parents. In some instances, though, they may decide that doing so isn’t going to be what’s best for the child. In those cases, a parent may be awarded visitation rights instead.
If you’ve been denied custody of your child, then you likely want to make sense of why this is the case. This information should be contained in the court order, which spells out the judge’s ruling on the matter.
By reading it over, you may find out that the judge decided that your neighborhood or home is too unsafe. They also may have concluded that you’ve been too much of an absentee parent to have you that involved in your child’s life right now. A judge may have even decided that travel between your home and the other parent’s is too far and too demanding for the child.
A judge also may deny a parent’s custody and visitation request if he or she has previously signed over his or her parental rights. Any parent that has a prior history of drug or alcohol abuse may also be denied these rights as well.
Parents that have had substantiated claims of domestic violence waged against them may be denied both custody and visitation rights with their child. In most cases, the abuse allegations must have been directed at either the child’s other parent, their sibling or the child.
If you have been awarded visitation rights in the past, yet you didn’t take advantage of them to see your child, then any new request may also be denied. Any parent who has spent an extensive period of time not communicating with his or he child may find that the judge presiding over the case is hesitatant to award either custody or visitation as well.
A judge denying your right to visitation of custody is likely not a permanent decision. Obtaining supervised visitation rights may be the first step to being awarded custody of your child.
If you’re interested in finding out what it’s going to take to win visitation rights, then you should consult a Fort Myers attorney.
Source: Verywell Family, “Visitation rights for parents denied child custody,” Debrina Washington, accessed May 04, 2018
