Visitation is the court-ordered schedule that decides when each parent has the child and where the child stays.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, and under Oklahoma statutes and case law, custody of minor children is divided into two things: legal custody (which is who makes decisions about a minor child) and physical custody, also called visitation. 43 O.S. § 109; 43 O.S. § 112. Visitation in Oklahoma determines where the minor child will reside on specific days, and is often one of the most litigated issues in divorce and paternity actions. Visitation is also separate from legal custody, and the two are not necessarily decided together. This article will explain the differences between the various kinds of visitation in Oklahoma:
Unsupervised Visitation
Most parents have unsupervised visitation, which means visitation where they have access to their children, and there is no need for a third party to watch them. Unsupervised visitation can take two forms: overnight visitation and day visits. Most visitation falls into overnight visitation, which is where the minor child spends overnights with one of the parents. Usually, if you receive overnight visitation, courts are going to give you either weekend visitation (from Friday to Sunday) or some form of 50/50 visitation, where you end up with 7 out of 14 overnights.
If you have day visits, that’s exactly what it sounds like. This may sometimes be afternoons with a child, or a day from morning to evening with them; however at the end of the visit, the minor child returns to the other parent. Day visits are incredibly uncommon and are usually used to transition a parent into overnight visitation if they need to build rapport with a minor child first. Day visits can be either supervised or unsupervised, and most parents who have unsupervised day visits will soon move to overnight visitation.
Supervised Visitation
Supervised visitation occurs when a parent has demonstrated that they may need a third-party to monitor their interactions with the minor child to protect the minor child. 43 O.S. § 110.1a. Supervised visitation may occur for a multitude of factors, such as domestic violence, drug or alcohol dependence, which courts are required to consider. 43 O.S. § 112.2. Supervised visitation can come in two forms: professionally supervised and third-party supervised. Professionally supervised visitation requires a party to pay for the supervisor. In Tulsa, that normally falls on the parent restricted to supervised visitation. Groups such as Tulsa Visitation Strategies offer such services for an hourly fee.
The other option is third-party supervised visitation, where a relative, friend, or person ordered by the court observes visitation in place of a professional supervisor. This person will have to complete an OSBI background check, sign an affidavit that they will follow the rules prescribed by the court and by statute, and will have to participate in supervised visitation for the parent to see the children. 43 O.S. § 110.1(D)(3).
Reconciliation Therapy
On some occasions, when a parent and their minor child have not had contact in a while, or the minor child has significant reservations about interacting with one of their parents, the court will order parties to attend reconciliation therapy. Reconciliation therapy is where the minor child and the reconciling parent work with a therapist in individual settings with the goal of reunifying. Once the parties are ready to interact with one another, the therapist will lead joint therapy sessions with the goal of getting the parties to participate in unsupervised visitation. Reconciliation therapy is often a last resort and only occurs in particular circumstances.
Holiday Schedules
Part of visitation schedules are holiday schedules, which will determine when each parent gets to celebrate various holidays, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, birthdays, and so on. When parents disagree on holidays, courts will often revert to the “standard holiday schedule” for their county. Tulsa’s holiday schedule, for example, can be found in the Tulsa County standard holiday schedule. Other counties will follow different visitation schedules specific to them.
Holiday schedules can be extremely important and may not cover all holidays that parties celebrate. For example, quite a few clients enjoy celebrating Halloween overnight for trick-or-treating; however, that may not be included in a standard holiday visitation schedule. That’s where settling a case can give you control over your holiday schedule.
Transportation
Visitation schedules will also control how parties transport their minor children to exchanges. Most often, a court will require the parties to choose a public location, such as a gas station, halfway between them, or to take turns traveling to the other. Courts additionally control what times exchanges occur so that parties have clear expectations of when to pick up and drop off their children.
Conclusion
There are many factors that go into a visitation schedule, from when the parties get their minor children, to what kind of visitation they have, to holiday schedules and transportation. Often these issues are resolved by agreement, but when they aren’t, it’s very important to have a skilled attorney who knows how to aggressively advocate for your rights as a parent. If you find yourself involved in a case involving visitation and need an attorney to advise you during negotiations or advocate your interests, call Croslin Law today.