Does anyone know? If I have sole custody of my child, does that mean ...?

Question

I can decide for him not to have visitations with his father?

My son doesn't have visitations with his father and hasn't for 4 years. He is now 5-1/2 years old. Now, his father wants to start visitations again. The last period of time that he had visitations with my son, he saw him when he wanted to. Sometimes he'd keep the visitation schedule. Sometimes he'd ask to reschedule and reschedule until he just missed the scheduled time for that week. I think by him being reintroduced to my son's life will do more harm than good. I don't want him to go through that again. Last time he was too young to even remember. This time he's old enough to understand. He doesn't know his father. I want to keep it that way until he's older and can accept the change more. Also, his father doesn't live a very healthy life style. I don't want my son around that.

Answer 1

No. It does not. If you deny visitation rights established under an order of court, you can be held in contempt.

"Visitation" is the right to visit a child but not to remove the child from the custodial parent's possession and control. The parent without physical custody of the child has a legal right to visitation with that child. It should be remembered that the right to visitation is just as much the child's right as a right of the parent.

You run the risk of getting in trouble with the courts if you deny the father visitation rights.

Answer 2

Not necessarily.

Custody just means that you are guardian for your child. The father still has the right to see the child if they so desire, and visitations can be court ordered. If there is a court ordered visitation schedule, be careful about ignoring that schedule. It could be your butt in trouble.

Unless the father is a danger to the child, why would you stop visitations? Using the child to get back at the other parent is the most selfish, childish, and poor thing anyone could do. A child has every right to see and know their parents - both of them.

Withholding the right to see the other parent will only damage the relationship you have with the child. Eventually the child will find out the truth, and they will not understand or be happy if it was done for no other reason than spite. I mean, I would hate my mom if she had done that to me!

He may be a dog, and you may hate the man, but that is not a reason to act like a child and not let your child see their father. You will be the loser in the end of that one.

Answer 3

No. Custody is divided into legal and physical custody. Legal custody determines who makes decisions concerning the child's health, education, and welfare. Where there is joint legal custody, the parent share decision-making. Physical custody is which parent the child lives with. If there is a custody determination by the court, there will generally be visitation rights for the non-custodial parent. If so, you must abide by these and grant the father the visitation. If you and the father were not married and there is no court determination of custody, then the father has no visitation rights until he gets a court order. Regardless of whether or not a court order exists (legally obligating you to permit visitation), you should not deny visitation unless visitation with his father would harm your child. Doing so would deprive your child of the possibility of a relationship with his father, and would undoubtedly harm your son.

Answer 4

No that is up to the court.