Visitation Law

MASSACHUSETTS, MARYLAND & VIRGINIA VISITATION ATTORNEYS

Assisting parents & grandparents exercise their visitation rights

The Massachusetts, Maryland & Virginia visitation and divorce lawyers of SRIS, P.C., have represented many clients with visitation cases. Our family law attorneys have been helping parents and grandparents in Virginia, Maryland & Massachusetts with exercising their visitation rights for over 20 years.

Our divorce lawyers who assist clients with visitation cases have offices in the following states. If you want to see the exact location of each office, please click on the different locations:

In Virginia, our offices in Northern Virginia are in Fairfax & Manassas; in Central Virginia, our office is in Richmond; in the Hampton Roads/Tidewater Area, our office is in Virginia Beach; in Western part of Virginia, our office is located in Lynchburg.
In Maryland, our offices are in Rockville & Annapolis.
In Massachusetts, our office is in Boston.

Please click on the state, if you wish to read some of the laws regarding visitation in:

Our divorce & visitation lawyers have an extensive amount of experience with representing clients who are seeking to exercise their visitation rights as parents & grandparents in Virginia, Maryland & Massachusetts. Our Massachusetts, Maryland & Virginia divorce & child custody attorneys who represent clients with visitation issues are careful to consider all of your family law concerns and provide thoughtful, prudent guidance through all of your family law & divorce law issues. If you wish to consult a SRIS, P.C. visitation lawyer in Virginia, Maryland or Massachusetts, send us an e-mail, call our office, or contact us on line.

Visitation and Child Visitation Rights (top)

With one million divorces being granted every year in the United States, it's obvious the number of children affected by marital breakup is staggering. A divorce poses this very real and often heart wrenching problem:

Where will the children live, and what are the rights of the non-custodial parent in regards to visitation?

The fear of losing custody is incredibly devastating to most parents. Rarely is any parent willing to minimize their ability to visit with their children, even if they are willing to give up primary physical custody.

Couples engaging the services of a Virginia visitation lawyer, Maryland visitation lawyer or Massachusetts visitation lawyer are no different. Visitation is a very important consideration in all divorce negotiations.

Custody and Child Visitation (top)

After divorcing, one of the parents may enjoy either legal custody, physical custody, or both. With sole legal custody, the parent who has charge of the children has the absolute legal and exclusive right to make to make basic and essential decisions concerning the child's health and welfare, (education, medical care, religious practices and so on). The parent without sole legal custody usually enjoys rather limited or even in some cases no visitation rights.

When one parent has sole physical custody, though the children may reside full tome with one parent, the other is entitled to visitation rights. States vary as to the amount of time a non-custodial parent is entitled to. Generally speaking, alternating weekends, specified holidays and perhaps a specified time during the year are common arrangements. Unless one parent is proven to be unfit or detrimental to the child's welfare, visitation rights are almost always granted.

When both parents share legal and physical custody, visitation is often a moot point, in that the children split their time more or less equally between both parents.

There is also what's called "supervised visitation." This is usually the case when one parent has been deemed a possible or real danger to the children. A third party is required to be in the presence of the children and the visiting parent at all times, supervising the visitation.

Visitation Abuses (top)

However, being granted visitation rights and having those rights enforced are two different matters. Virginia visitation lawyers, Massachusetts visitation lawyers and visitation lawyers in Maryland are all too often aware that a custodial parent may use visitation as a way to "get back" or "get even" with their ex-spouse.

Though this is almost never in the best interests of the child or children, it happens more than one likes to imagine. In fact, it's been estimated that 6 million children in the USA alone are affected by their parents warring over visitation. These visitation abuses in Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts are no different.

Some parents go to extremes, poisoning the well so to speak about the absent spouse, intimating that "Daddy abandoned us" or that "Mommy just didn't want you any more." The child naturally assumes this is the case, because the other parent is indeed mostly absent from their lives.

Others take a more passive approach, denigrating the time the other spouse "allocates" to the children. "Well, isn't it nice that Daddy finally has time to spend a couple of days with you."

Some even prevent the visitation altogether, either by not showing up with the children when the other parent's visitation begins, or not being home when the non-custodial spouse arrives to pick the children up for the visitation.

Enforcing Child Visitation Orders and Agreements (top)

Yes - breaching the visitation agreement can be cause for legal action. But some parents have figured out how to "game the system" - knowing full well the courts are overloaded with cases. Even if they are found in contempt of the visitation orders - little will be done in the way of real consequences. It's rare the offending spouse is incarcerated, or even lose their primary custody rights.

The most effective Massachusetts, Maryland and Virginia visitation lawyers are experienced at specifically handling child visitation and custody cases. These visitation law attorneys constantly remind their clients the needs and interests of the child are of paramount consideration, not the rights or hurt feelings of the parents.

That means that unless there are extenuating circumstances (abuse, neglect, or other negative conditions) children can and should spend as much time as possible with both the mother and father during and after the divorce.

Visitation Rights for Grandparents & Extended Family Members (top)

Recently, the courts in Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts have recognized that grandparents also have an interest in visitation, albeit more limited than those of the parents. Severing the relationship between a grandchild and their grandparents is usually not in the child's best interest, and grandparents have taken a proactive approach with respect to child visitation agreements in order to stay active in their grandchildren's lives. The courts recognize that the more involvement significant family members have in a child's life may be in the child's best interests. Generally, grandparents fill that role in a significant way.

Visitation Lawyers in Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts

The Virginia visitation lawyers, Maryland visitation lawyers and Massachusetts visitation lawyers at SRIS, P.C. have represented many clients in connection with visitation agreements and modifications, custody determinations, and enforcement of visitation orders and rights.

Our expert visitation lawyers also handle interstate and international custody issues involving the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) and the Hague Convention.

If you have concerns about your visitation rights, or feel your visitations have been unfairly curtailed, please don't hesitate to call our expert visitation attorneys in Virginia, Maryland or Massachusetts. We'll give you the best possible advice available and if needed, the type of legal help you need to contest or enforce your visitation rights in family court.