Child Visitation Rights in Columbia

Columbia Divorce Lawyer for Child Visitation

At Masella Law Firm, P.A., we fully understand how important it is for you to maintain your relationship with your children after your divorce, and with extensive legal experience and a background in prosecution, we are prepared to fight for your right to visitation. Whether you are involved in a divorce and are anxious about securing visitation with your children in the future, or if you want to petition the court to modify or enforce existing orders on the matter, a Columbia divorce lawyer from our firm is ready to begin working on your case immediately.

The family law courts in Columbia prefer-whenever it is in the best interests of the children-to allow both parents to have as much time with the children as is possible, but when the custodial parent is opposed to you having visitation rights you will have to be prepared to fight the case. We will work to gather evidence and testimony to prove that it would be beneficial for the children to spend time with you, so that you are not relegated to a minor role in their lives or cut off from them entirely.

Regardless of if you and your spouse come to an agreement in an uncontested divorce or if the judge rules for you in a contested divorce, you will end up with a visitation schedule which determines when you will be with the children, as well as the logistics of transferring them between parents. Common visitation schedules involve weekends or every other weekend as well as certain holidays and school vacations.

Paternity Actions for Visitation Rights

If you were not married to the mother of your child at the time of birth and did not affirm your biological relationship at that time, you do not automatically have any legal rights of child custody or visitation. You do have the option of petitioning for such rights, but only after you have carried out a paternity action, which involves DNA testing to prove that you are the father.