Sticking to a Visitation Schedule Is Key To Avoid Conflict After Divorce

Child support, custody and visitation are three prongs that almost every state court requires parents to agree upon before granting a divorce. The court takes great pains in helping couples come to the best resolution when it comes to what is best for their children. A visitation or timesharing agreement is a foundational building block to doing what is right for the children after a divorce. Find out what makes this document so critical and what it means going forward.

Why Is a Visitation Agreement Important?

A parenting plan contains a section that addresses the time children will spend with each parent. It can be as broad or specific as the parents believe is warranted. In particularly tricky custody battles, having a daily schedule detailing when the children are with each parent may be the best way to go. There should be no question of where the children need to go if the parents have hashed out every scenario in the parenting plan. If you are splitting physical custody, then you may want to keep it simple and have the kids alternate entire weeks. Other needs may necessitate the children going back and forth through the course of a week.

What if the Agreement Needs Changing?

As time goes on, the timesharing agreement you hashed out years ago may no longer ring true. Children may start participating in sports or other afterschool activities that no longer work with the schedule as planned. Likewise, your job may have changed and may demand you travel more. As such, the children must stay with their other parent a few days more than contemplated in your original agreement. Modifying a timesharing agreement is meant to get easier as time goes by, as the hope is the parents can work something out between them. However, this is not always the case, and a formal change may be necessary. You may have to petition to go back to court to get a new agreement.

What Happens if an Ex Violates the Agreement?

You may be dealing with an ex who has never stuck to the parenting schedule. It may have gotten to the point where you had the children for weeks on end without a visit from the other parent. If the issue cannot be worked out between you and your ex, you may need to initiate a court action. Modifying the timesharing agreement formally may result in a change in child support calculation, especially if the current one is dependent on the days your ex has the kids.

Make sure to find a divorce lawyer in Cypress, TX for more help on how to modify a visitation agreement. They are the best resource for this situation.

Thanks to Winfrey Law Firm for their insight into family law and visitation schedules for children.