Not all spouses are friendly, and some are physically abusive. Tennessee parents who divorced the mother or father of their children due to physical abuse will probably be afraid to leave their children with their ex-spouse during scheduled parental visitation time. So, how do you prevent your ex-spouse from abusing your children if this is the case?
In instances where your spouse has a history of being physically abusive — particularly if there is a criminal record of that abuse toward your children — it’s important to highlight this fact to the family law court that decides the matter of parental visitation rights. In most situations, when the court suspects that a non-custodial parent poses a danger to your children, it will demand that any visitation time be subjected to supervision.
When a parent is awarded supervised visitation only, then another adult — who approved by the court but is not the custodial parent — will need to be present at all times during the visitation. This adult will be responsible for preventing any physical abuse against the children. In a lot of cases, the supervising adult will be someone that both the parents can agree to — or it could be a court-appointed individual. Nevertheless, the court must approve of any person who will serve in a supervisory capacity.
Tennessee mothers and fathers who are worried about the safety of their children while they are visiting with the non-custodial parent may want to contract the services of an experienced family law attorney. An attorney will know exactly how to appeal to the court in such a way as to highlight your children’s need for supervised visitation with your abusive ex-spouse.
Source: FindLaw, “Parental visitation rights FAQ,” accessed Feb. 10, 2017
