When a couple obtains a divorce in Maryland — and if there are minor children from the marriage — custody of the minor children is one of the more important tasks that must be undertaken by the Maryland divorce court. The divorce court has wide discretion and a wide range of options. For example, concerning custody, the range extends from full custody to one parent to joint custody equally shared by both parents. Further, since custody itself is two things — legal custody and physical custody — the options are even more expansive.

A similar range of options is available to the Maryland divorce court with respect to visitation rights. If full custody is granted to one parent, most often, some sort of visitation rights will be granted to the other parent. But, as just noted, the Maryland divorce court has a range of options here. Among those options include something called “supervised visitation.” The Maryland divorce and family law attorneys at the Law Office of Robert Castro discuss this concept below. If you have questions, call us at (301) 870-1200. We are located in Waldorf, Maryland.

As the term suggests, “supervised visitation” is visitation by a parent with minor children that is supervised — that is, some other adult is present when a parent is visiting with the child or children. Even here, a Maryland divorce court has options. The “supervising” adult could be the other parent, a social worker, an official from the Department of Family Services, or in a more extreme circumstance, someone with a law enforcement background. In terms of locations, again, the divorce court has options. The visitations can be allowed at the home of the custodial parent or some other neutral location.

The reason that supervised visitation is considered an option is because Maryland divorce courts deem it in the best interests of children to have some contact and involvement from their parents. Parental involvement generally leads to a better-developed child and, eventually, a better-developed adult.

However, in some circumstances, an unsupervised visitation is deemed unsafe or unwise. This is not limited to just the physical safety of the child/children but to psychological and emotional well-being. Examples of such circumstances include cases where there has been evidence of

• Child abuse
• Neglect
• Domestic violence
• Alcohol and/or substance abuse
• Criminal behavior (aside from domestic abuse)

Supervised visitation tries to “balance” the potential for harm and the need for a safe and regulated environment for a family visitation with the hope that visitation will be positive for both the child/children and the parent. That is, the parent in question can maintain contact with the child/children but in a structured, safe environment for the child/children.

Typically, supervised visitation is considered a temporary remedy. Generally, the hope is that, over time, the conditions that prompted the need for supervised visitation will be resolved so that the Maryland divorce court can remove the supervision requirement.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Family Law and Divorce Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Divorce lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.