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For people that have minor children, the biggest concerns they have when preparing to file for a divorce or custody proceeding revolve around the children.  How will the court handle custody, what is the appropriate parenting time schedule, how much will the child support be, who will provide the health insurance are all questions that must be considered.  The concerns become that much greater when there is no trust between the parents or one of the parents has issues with drugs, alcohol, violence or mental health.  In these cases extra care must be taken in crafting the appropriate custody and parenting time orders.  This blog is intended to provide a simplified overview of supervised parenting time, if you have questions regarding your particular situation, please contact us online or call (248) 608-4123 to schedule a consultation.

How Do I Get an Order for the Other Parent's Time With Our Child to be  Supervised?

If there are issues that might cause harm either directly or indirectly to the child by allowing unsupervised parenting time , then you probably have a case where the court will order that any parenting time with the other parent will be supervised.  If the parent's are not living together at the time the complaint for divorce or custody is filed, then often it is appropriate to file a motion to establish interim or temporary custody, parenting time and support.  Once the written motion is filed, a court hearing will be scheduled where the Friend of the Court and/or the Judge will listen to arguments and then grant an order that allows for specific parenting time and support.  The order may have a variety of restrictions on parenting time including fulltime supervision.  This order will govern these issues until the case has come to a resolution and the final judgment is entered.

How Long Will the Parenting Time be Supervised?

The court will typically order that the supervision shall be required for a set period of time after which it will review the matter and determine whether supervision is still required.  The restrictions may be initially required for a relatively shorter term, like 60-90 days and if the parent is able to handle parenting time consistently without problems. then the court may remove the restrictions or grant additional supervised parenting time.  If the parent is not able to complete the parenting time or that parent's issues are severe, then the court may simply order supervised parenting time and put the burden on that parent to file the appropriate motions and prove that the restrictions should be lifted.

These are particularly difficult issues for a parent to face and this blog really only scratches the surface, if you have specific questions, please do not hesitate to schedule a consultation either by contacting us online or calling (248) 608-4123.