The legal system sometimes lags behind the prevailing viewpoints of society. For instance, family law courts once were prone to awarding full physical custody to mothers and essentially disregarding the pleas of fathers for the same privilege or for shared custody. That, sometimes, was immensely frustrating for a family lawyer in Mankato, MN representing a father in a disputed custody case.
This situation has changed over the years, as judges now strongly encourage both parents to be very active in the children’s lives. It is significantly less likely now for a father to only be awarded twice-monthly weekend visitation and spend time with his children as little as 26 times each year. Even if the visitation arrangement must be set up like this because of factors like distance between residences, additional virtual and in-person visits can be scheduled throughout the year.
Virtual Visitation
Spending time together through electronic methods can be very beneficial considering today’s cutting-edge technology. Scheduled video chatting may be the most optimum form of virtual visitation, as it allows the parent and child to actually feel like they are together. Being able to talk and send text messages daily or nearly so on mobile phones helps everyone keep in touch more routinely and in a natural way.
Special Events
If the parent with primary custody is trying to block additional visits outside of the formally scheduled ones, a family lawyer in Mankato, MN can help. Family court judges prefer to see the noncustodial parent included in holidays and special events. The other parent should be able to attend concerts and other school-related events that the child participates in, for example.
Additional Holiday Visitation
The noncustodial parent should be able to spend time with the kids around Christmas and other important holidays. An attorney with a firm such as Blatz Law Office may petition the court to formally schedule visitation days at these times of the year. One parent may have the youngsters on Christmas Day, for instance, and the other on Christmas Eve or the full weekend beforehand as an additional visit. Please see the website Blatzlawminnesota.com for details on this particular organization.
