Florence Visitation Lawyer

Every parent feels they should have the right to help raise and spend time with their child. When parents separate or go through a divorce, they often argue over child custody and visitation rights, which can lead to legal disputes. By consulting a skilled family attorney, you can take proactive steps to navigate these challenging situations and protect your parental rights.

Custody and visitation issues often grow more complicated when a child is born to parents who were never married. If you need legal advice regarding child visitation disputes, you should speak to a knowledgeable Florence visitation lawyer.

How Custody Impacts Visitation Rights

Visitation rights generally come into play when a parent does not have custody of the child. Custody refers to a parent’s legal obligation to provide care for a child.

The court typically divides custody into multiple categories, including legal and physical custody. The parent that the child lives with has physical custody. Legal custody refers to a parent’s ability to make decisions on the child’s behalf, including choices regarding education and medical care.

Parents can share both legal custody and physical custody. Child visitation disputes often arise in scenarios where parents have joint physical custody.

The Commonwealth also refers to a parent’s visitation rights as parenting time or timesharing. When it comes to matters involving parental custody and visitation, the Commonwealth encourages parents to work together to come to an amicable agreement on a custody and parenting time schedule.

When parents cannot agree on child custody and visitation, they will need to resolve their issues in court. A Florence lawyer can advise clients involved in visitation disputes.

The Court Determines Visitation Rights by The Child’s Best Interest

If a dispute makes it to family court, a judge will issue an order stipulating when a parent shall have custody or visitation rights. According to Kentucky Revised Statutes Annotated § 403.270, the court must consider what is in the child’s best interest when deciding custody and visitation.

A Florence attorney knowledgeable in visitation rights can explain what the court considers when evaluating the child’s best interest, which includes:

• The child’s wishes
• Each parent wishes
• The motivations of the parents
• The child’s interactions with each parent
• Whether a parent was guilty of domestic abuse
• The mental and physical well-being of all parties
• The child’s relationship with each parent or siblings
• The likelihood the child is allowed to have continued contact with the noncustodial parent
• How the child will have to adjust if they cannot continue within close proximity to their current home, school, and community

Unmarried Fathers Can Obtain Visitation

A Florence attorney can advise fathers about how to obtain custody or visitation rights when a child is born to unmarried parents. In these situations, the court recognizes the mother as the sole custodial parent of the child unless they issue a court order to establish the father’s rights.

A father must first establish paternity to obtain custody or visitation rights. If the situation is amicable and no one contests parentage, the father can sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity.

If a mother disputes the father’s paternity, parents can request genetic testing to establish paternity. Parents can obtain genetic testing regardless of the child’s age.

Once the court or parents establish paternity, a father can then petition the court for custody or visitation rights. The court still makes decisions on these matters by evaluating what is in the best interest of the child.

Speak With a Florence Attorney About Parental Visitation Rights

The prospect of a legal proceeding deciding your rights to child custody or visitation is daunting. Hiring a competent Florence visitation lawyer can help you understand your legal rights as you go through family law disputes.

In addition to establishing visitation rights, parents may encounter challenges when modifying or enforcing their existing custody or visitation rights. Our attorneys have decades of experience and will aggressively fight on your behalf to secure your parental rights. Contact us today for your free consultation.