Visitation

Non-custodial Rockwall County parents are often granted “visitation” with their children through formalized divorce decrees. For decades, this meant that the kids would visit their mother or father on weekends, summers and holidays, leaving the custodial parent to endure the full responsibility of raising the child for the majority of the year. Modern custody schedules have showed a renewed focus toward co-parenting, though, making the concept of visitation a somewhat antiquated notion.

Many custody arrangements in Rockwall County now allow parents to share custody during the week, allowing children to shuttle between two homes with more regularity. This can be beneficial for co-parents; after all, spending time with your children on school nights gives you access to their everyday lives. These arrangements, while convenient for mom and dad, might not be the best for the children. Experts say you can make some compromises to improve your visitation schedule for all family members involved.

Divorced parents should consider living close to each other. You do not have to be next-door neighbors, but your child should be able to walk or bike to the other parent’s home. That way, the children have a more active role in choosing which parent to visit at any given time. Furthermore, the transition between homes becomes far less frantic. If the child forgets something at your ex’s house, you can quickly stop by to pick it up, rather than enduring a long trip.

Next, visitation schedules should be predictable and routine. Youngsters thrive on structure, so you need to tell your children what they can expect every week. Make sure to post a visitation calendar in an obvious place so your kids know which days are spent with which parent. This good communication will help earn your kids’ buy-in to your carefully crafted visitation plan.

Finally, successful co-parents are generally flexible. If your child has a sudden illness or special event, you may need to sacrifice some extra time with them in order to maintain family stability. If your ex has to take a business trip, for example, work together to make accommodations for makeup visitations.

Visitation schedules are admittedly difficult to craft, which is why we often involve attorneys in the process. Consider integrating the services of Tracy Gray into your child custody and visitation negotiations. Mrs. Gray has years of experience dealing with a variety of family law situations, and she understands the intricacies involved in creating a satisfactory visitation schedule.