Supervised visitation is when one parent can see the child but needs to have someone else present to oversee the interaction. The person accompanying the child and parent during these visits might be the other parent or a trusted friend or family member. Allowing contact between the child and one of their parents in a controlled setting gives them a chance to foster the relationship with that parent while also keeping the child safe.
Turner Family Law is here to help you navigate family matters — like child custody and visitation — in the aftermath of a divorce, breakup, or separation. As a divorced dad, J. Michael Turner, Jr. can appreciate what you’re going through. He and his dedicated team have extensive training in crafting workable and responsive solutions to legal matters involving children.
What Is Supervised Visitation?
Under South Carolina law, the court awards custody and visitation rights to each parent based on the children’s best interests. For example, the child may live with one parent year-round but visit with the other parent throughout the year.
Some family dynamics may pose physical or psychological safety risks to the children; however, the court may decide that it’s in the children’s best interest to allow the children to visit one of the parents in a supervised setting. Under the arrangement, the parent spends time with the children while an agreed-upon person — like a grandparent or trusted friend — is also present.
How Does Supervised Visitation Work?
Supervised visitation enables children to spend time with one of their parents in a safe and secure setting. During a divorce or child custody proceeding, the court listens to proposals from both parents about what kind of child custody and visitation arrangement they each think is appropriate. Sometimes, the parents come up with an agreement before talking to the judge about this, but this isn’t always the case.
If the judge identifies a risk to the children’s well-being — such as a history or an allegation of domestic violence or drug use — the judge may restrict one of the parent’s rights to have visits with the children. Instead of letting the parent be alone with the children, the court may require the parent to have a designated person attend the visits as well. The court may name one or more individuals who can participate in these visits.
Why Supervised Visitation May Be Ordered
The court may decide that supervised visitation is best if there’s a current or past safety risk to the children, but they still think it’s important for the children and one of the parents to see each other. For example, if one parent has a history of domestic violence against the other parent and is in recovery, the court may allow the children to see the parent if a grandparent is present and agrees to call the cops if something goes wrong.
Another time where the court may believe that supervised visits are appropriate is if the parent has a history of smoking weed or drinking around the children. The judge may allow the children and parent to associate; however, the judge might want someone else to be there to make sure these types of activities aren’t happening when the children are present.
Can I Request Supervised Visitation?
You may be able to request supervised visitation if you would like to see your children but are aware of potential concerns the court has or might identify. You can make this request as part of an existing case — such as a divorce proceeding — or as a standalone proceeding.
Additionally, if you have an existing child custody and visitation arrangement — or were previously denied visitation rights — you may be able to ask the court to adjust the current agreement so that you can see your children if someone else is present.
Benefits and Challenges of Supervised Visitation
The benefit of having a supervised visitation order is that the children and the parent can still have an ongoing relationship with each other. Instead of being totally absent from each other’s lives, they can see and talk to each other and create memories together.
The challenges of supervised visitation are twofold. Needing to have someone present for visits is a logistical hurdle that can be difficult to overcome at all times.
Scheduling conflicts may arise, or the designated person may move to a new state, meaning they can’t be present during any visits. In that case, the parents may need to go back to court and pick someone else to serve in this role. The other challenge and potential risk for this arrangement is that the children may be exposed to safety concerns even though these measures are in place to protect them.
Contact Turner Family Law for Legal Help Navigating Supervised Visitation
Supervised visitation can be a useful tool to leave the door open for a parent to form a relationship with their children in a controlled setting. The court may use this arrangement if they think it’s in the best interests of the children to have continued contact with that parent, but they also want to keep safety risks at bay.
Turner Family Law can help you create, request, and enforce supervised visitation agreements in South Carolina. Our legal team includes J. Michael Turner, Jr., who understands what his clients are going through because, as a father who has gone through a divorce as well, he’s been where they are. Reach out to us by calling 864-778-2734 to set up a time to discuss your legal needs and how we can help create empowering and effective child custody and visitation solutions.
