It can be hard living in a different household than your child. While technology has made it easy to stay in touch on a daily basis, it is still a far cry from in-person parenting time. This is why visitation rights are so important for both parents and children. Whether you are a mom or dad, you need to understand what visitation rights you have as a noncustodial parent in North Carolina.
There are a few different types of visitation, two of which are reasonable and fixed. If you have reasonable visitation, you and your ex will decide which visitation times are best. Fixed visitation is when a judge orders visitation times for you. Parents sometimes prefer reasonable visitation as they feel they are more familiar with their children’s lives and schedules, but some judges find it necessary to make their own rulings on the matter.
Your custody agreement might also include something called electronic visitation. This type of visitation involves using technology like video chats or text messaging to stay in touch with your child. Virtual visitation does not count as part of your official visitation time in North Carolina, so your child’s other parent cannot use that time as an excuse to withhold other visits.
Creating the best possible visitation schedule is essential for your child’s well-being, but also for your own. But maybe your child’s other parent is not on the same page as you are, or there are complicating factors that make getting things right difficult. If this is the case, you should be sure to visit our website, where you can learn more about child custody, visitation rights and other family law matters.