QUESTION
Is it possible to request supervised visitations after joint legal custody is awarded?
Asked on Sep 24th, 2017 on Child Custody - New York
More details to this question:
One year ago the father and I went to court for custody where we were awarded Joint-Legal Custody however I have Sole Physical Custody and Final Decision-Making Authority. The father had not met our three year old until just a few months ago (June 2017) and has been harassing me about taking our daughter out alone. He has also been trying to convince me to take him off of child support (put in place last year) so that he can come visit our daughter more often. Despite me telling him that it is much too soon and our daughter tells me that she does not want to go out with him alone, he continues to blame me for him not seeing her more often - he only visits once a week. I have told him that we can work out a different schedule where he can come see her more often but he never takes the initiative to actually talk about it. He has showed up for his visits with pocket knives and high after I’ve asked him not to. He says I’m being unreasonable & is taking me back to court. How can i prepare
1 ANSWER
Civil Rights Law Attorney serving Rockville Centre, NY
Partner at
Lori Nevias, Attorney at Law
1 Award
Prepare for court by saving emails and text messages, and document everything. Make a time-line, and keep track of events and conversations. The father should absolutely not be under the influence of street drugs on visits with your daughter. Absolutely do not "take him off of child support". It is his legal obligation to support his child and if the father wants more money available for visits, it doesn't come out of child support. If he is violating your visitation agreement in some way you can file a petition asking the judge to address that, too.
You can petition for supervised visitation, but it won't be awarded unless you can prove he's a danger to your child. If the court appoints court personnel to supervise, it will cost the father money. If the grandparents are available, try to convince the father to have the visits at the grandparents house.
However, bottom line is that unless you can prove the father is a danger to your child, he has a right to see her alone, and it's your job to foster a loving relationship between them.
Answered on Sep 25th, 2017 at 8:21 AM