There are many issues you will face when dealing with visitation and custody after a divorce. Some of these issues may develop into reasons to seek a change to your court order and some will resolve themselves as life circumstances change and people mature.
When physical custody is not split 50/50, as it often is these days, you may face visitation challenges. Physical distance and psychological or drug problems are but a few of the many issues that can present problems when you are arranging visitation.
VIRTUAL VISITATION
- One solution that is working for many families is virtual visitation. This can include emails, chat rooms, and interactive game playing.
- This can be a great way for the non-custodial parent to have communication with their child or children without causing upheaval to the whole family.
SKYPE VISITATION
- Another solution for distance and other issues is Skype visitation. For instance, when the non-custodial parent has supervised visitation but lives at an inconvenient distance away or supervision centers are hard to come by, Skype can be the answer.
- Unlike other virtual communication means, Skype gives real “face time” for the parties to get to know each other better and have a real relationship.
- Depending on the particular, unique circumstances of your visitation order, you may feel comfortable with a casual schedule, letting your child and the non-custodial parent set up a schedule that they can use to build and maintain a relationship.
- This can be a visitation solution when the parent is incarcerated.
SUPERVISED SKYPE VISITATION
- Alas, there are circumstances when a child can’t be left alone with their non-custodial parent, even virtually.
- In these cases, supervised Skype visitation can be utilized.
- This means that there is a psychologist or therapist (the specific kind should be agreed upon by the parties) on both ends of the Skype call.
- This protects the child from inappropriate words or actions of the parent and offers the parent guidance so they can learn how to behave and how to have a healthy relationship with their child.
- It is possible to get this in a court order so that the non-custodial parent doesn’t try to get around the rules.
- One thing that should be included in the guidelines is that the child is permitted to end the call anytime they feel uncomfortable. This empowering condition sets the tone for a healthy relationship.
To learn more about unconventional custody and visitation means, contact the family law attorneys at Self Legal Group in Oklahoma City.