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The concept of reasonable visitation

On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Child Custody on Friday, November 11, 2016.

Illinois parents who are going through a divorce know that child custody can be a contested issue. Parental visitation is one of the child custody issues that can be a major concern. When addressing this matter, the court may present reasonable visitation as an option.

In cases in which the court has determined that one of the parties is entitled to reasonable visitation, it is expected that the parents will try to work together to create a schedule. Having parents that are able to cooperate with one another is the preferred method of deciding on visitation schedules. Parents are able to customize the visitation so that they can accommodate their individual job and social demands.

The opinion of the parents who have primary physical custody will typically carry more weight with regard to when and how long visitation takes place, and they are not legally bound to agree with a visitation schedule. However, if there are signs that the custodial parent is being unaccommodating out of spite, the court will take the behavior into account with any future request made by that parent.

Both parents have to be committed to making a reasonable visitation schedule work, and it requires engaging in effective communication with one another. If working together is not feasible, the court should be notified, and a fixed visitation schedule should be requested. If both parties have managed to agree to a reasonable visitation plan that does not appear to be working, alternative arrangements for parental visitation can be requested.

A parent who is going through a divorce may want to have the assistance of a family law attorney when negotiating a plan for visitation rights. Attorneys will remind their clients that the paramount consideration should be the best interests of the children and not of the parents.

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