In South Carolina, the parent without primary custody has the right to reasonable visitation, to be scheduled as agreed upon by the parties, or as ordered by the Court. As with all matters involving kids, though, the best interests of the child are paramount in all visitation decisions.
In some cases, though, a parent may forfeit his or her rights to visitation by engaging in conduct that is harmful to the child’s welfare or morals. Likewise, the Court may impose restrictions or conditions on visitation if one parent shows that the other could bring harm to the child, though absolute denial of visitation is rare. In fact, so rare is the absolute denial of visitation that the Family Court may award visitation to a parent who previously committed domestic violence, so long as the safety of the child can be assured. Supervised visitation can be ordered, as can a restriction or prohibition on overnight visitation.
In many cases, the Court will appoint a Guardian ad Litem to represent the best interests of the child. The Guardian ad Litem will perform an independent investigation of the situation surrounding the child, and will visit the homes of both parents, as well as conduct interviews with parents, family members, teachers, counselors, and other people who have insight into what the child needs to thrive. After the investigation, the Guardian ad Litem will submit a report to the Court, saying what they believe the Court should order, and why. The Family Court judge is not required to do what the Guardian ad Litem says, but will take the report under serious consideration.
When considering visitation, it is important to remember that every case is different, and different children and families have different needs. Some families and children thrive when the noncustodial parent has visitation every other weekend, while others thrive when parents split time with the children on a week-on/week-off basis.
Still, unless the Court states otherwise, visitation is a parental right. As visitation is mostly for the benefit of the children, a noncustodial parent’s obligation to pay child support is independent of visitation rights. In other words, a parent cannot withhold support if visitation is denied, and a parent cannot withhold visitation if support is denied.
However, if one parent does deny the other parent reasonable visitation with the child, the Court has a number of options. The court may:
- Award extra visitation to compensate for lost time, in a manner that does not interfere with the best interests of the child.
- Award custody or primary residence to the noncustodial parent, if it is the best interests of the child. (This is unlikely, unless the denial of visitation has been egregious.)
- Punish the custodial parent by contempt of court or other remedies as the Court deems appropriate.
At The LaMantia Law Firm, we are parents. We cannot imagine being kept from our children, and we understand the frustration and stress that comes from being in a situation when issues of custody and visitation are uncertain. We are here to help — contact us today for a free initial consultation.