If you are ending your marriage and you have kids, it is crucial to focus on child custody and visitation. Every family faces unique challenges and there are many different factors that can affect the outcome of a custody case. Sometimes, both parents have custody rights, while other divorces grant custody to one parent and visitation to the other.
In some instances, parents are unable to see their children because they do not have any visitation rights.
Why do some parents lose visitation rights?
According to the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, when courts award sole physical custody to one parent they often give the other parent reasonable visitation rights. However, in some instances, the court does grant visitation rights to a child’s non-custodial parent if they come to the conclusion that visitation is not in the child’s best interests.
For example, if the court finds that a parent abused his or her child and they believe that the child would experience mental trauma when spending time with their other parent, they could prohibit the non-custodial parent from having any visitation rights.
How can parents pursue visitation rights?
Sometimes, one parent falsely accuses the other of abuse in order to win a custody battle or prevent their ex from seeing the kids. If you are falsely accused of abuse, you need to gather as much evidence as you can to prove your innocence and protect your relationship with your kids.
Even though this is often very overwhelming, try to stay focused and optimistic, especially since there is so much at stake.