Can a Judge Order Supervised Visitation or No Visitation in Houston, Texas?
Even the least complex divorce cases can be challenging and emotional, and when a child is involved, it often means that two former spouses can never achieve a truly clean break. Ideally, they will put aside their differences in the child’s best interest, ensuring that both the custodial parent and non-custodial parent have the opportunity to form bonds with the child and play a valuable role in their lives.
It is not always possible for parents to reach a suitable agreement without intervention from the courts. If there are reasons to believe that a parent or their family members cannot reliably be alone with a child for any reason, a Judge may order supervised visitation. Suppose there are severe issues that a supervisor cannot be reliably expected to prevent, such as a risk of domestic violence. In that case, a Judge has the right to order that the at-risk party has no visitation rights.
So, can a judge order supervised visitation or no visitation in Houston, Texas? Yes, they can. As the right to spend time with a child is determined by a court order and is, therefore, a legal process, it makes sense to consult an attorney specializing in family law before attempting to put such an order into practice.
Understanding Supervised Visitation in Texas
As the name suggests, a supervised visitation order requires the noncustodial parent to be accompanied by a third party when visiting their child. This is to ensure the child’s safety during the visit and to ensure they do not endure any kind of physical abuse or emotional harm.
While a friend or family member can serve as the monitor during supervised visitation in Texas, the nature of these relationships means that a Judge is likely to appoint a neutral third party to oversee supervised visits.
Why Supervised Visitation Might Be Required
There must be convincing evidence to put a supervised visitation order in place. A Judge would not look fondly upon anyone that attempted to request supervised visitation as a way to prevent their former spouse from seeing a child or merely to inconvenience them.
Anything that could interfere with a child’s welfare is grounds for seeking court-ordered supervised visitation. Common reasons include the following:
- A history of mental or physical abuse by the other parent
- Use of abusive language
- Drinking alcohol in a way that impairs a parent’s ability to look after their child
- Substance abuse and drug addiction
- Family violence and physical endangerment
- Severe mental illness
- Anything that could cause the child’s emotional stability to be detrimentally affected
In the most extreme cases, where a Judge believes that the supervised parent poses a sufficient risk to the child’s wellbeing to outweigh their right to parental access, they might enforce a no visitation order.
The Skillern Firm Divorce & Child Custody Lawyers Team is Standing By to Help
Supervised visitation means restrictions that may prevent a parent and child from seeing as much of each other as they might want to. Nobody enters a marriage thinking that they might one day have to apply to a court to ensure the other parent cannot pose any danger to their child, but circumstances change, and courts have the power to act.
Just as those circumstances can change for the worse, they can also change for the better, and a supervised visitation or no visitation order does not have to be a life sentence for any parent.
Working alongside an attorney from Skillern Firm Divorce & Child Custody Lawyers, a parent can ensure that anything enforced upon them by the courts is fair, appropriate, and in the best interest of the child.
If you are concerned about visitation rights and need support and guidance on what to do next, we’re here to help. Call our offices today for an initial consultation at (832) 688-6606
