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Video Blog 2016 May Visitation Rights & Divorced Parents | Pasadena Child Custody Lawyer
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Visitation Rights & Divorced Parents | Pasadena Child Custody Lawyer

Posted By The Graves Law Firm || 25-May-2016

Today there are more than 1.7 million children in the United States with incarcerated parents. Additionally, approximately one in right children have experienced parental incarceration while they were minors. Studies have consistently shown that a children with parents who are in prison suffer from emotional traumas on par with abuse, domestic violence and divorce. Children are especially affected when their parents are divorced. Just because a parent is in prison does not mean they lose their visitation rights to see their child, but if your ex-spouse is living in a prison far away from your home, visiting may place undue stress and financial hardship on your family.

If you are a divorced spouse struggling with managing visitation rights while your ex is incarcerated, you may be able to alter your court ordered custody and visitation arrangements. In this blog, our Pasadena child custody attorney discusses things to consider when managing child custody while one parent is in jail.

Physical Custody vs Legal Custody and Visitation Rights

If you and your incarcerated spouse are divorced with a joint legal custody or physical custody arrangement, they still have certain rights to make decisions regarding their children. Decisions made under legal custody could include: whether or not a child will attend religious services, medical care, and where their child may go to school. If visiting the incarcerated parent has become a burden, it is possible to change the custody order, but you will have to file a Request for order Form FL-300 and show there has been a change in circumstances indicated your ex has been incarcerated which greatly affects your current custody agreement.

Often prisoners are moved around to other state prisons, which can be far away from the other non-incarcerated parent to travel. Depending on how far away the prisoner is moved from their family, caretakers or non-incarcerated parents may have to pay for accommodations and other travel expenses which can be a huge financial strain.

Hearings

Our constitution protects the parent-child relationship, meaning even incarcerated parents have the right to respond to the motion. The incarcerated parent will also have to provide evidence to the courts that they have continued a consistent relationship with their child. In order to maintain parental rights, fathers and mothers must maintain contact and inclusion in their child’s life. Letters, photos and gifts sent to their child may be one way they can prove they have continued their relationship. There are grounds for the court to involuntarily terminate parental rights if the parent is serving a long-term prison sentence without the possibility of parole for six or more years.

Best Interests of the Child

When a court decides on custody and visitation rights for children of divorced parents, a large factor they consider is the best interests of the child. Prison visits can be extremely stressful for their children as most prison visits have rules against touching, time limits of visitation, plastic barriers and requirements that all communication be through telephones. This can give the child a stronger sense of separation from their parent. Additionally, children will have to face pat downs, frisk searches, and rude treatment from staff which can be stressful, especially for young children who may not completely understand the situation they are in.

Let Us Help You

At The Graves Law Firm, we believe in fighting for what is in the best interests of the children. If you are considering filing a motion to change your current child custody and visitation orders our Pasadena child custody attorney can help you through this process. We have extensive experience handling child custody and family law matters, so you can rest assured you are in good hands.

Contact our firm today to speak with an attorney.

Categories: Visitation

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