Also known as: visitation right · right of visitation · rights of visitation · visitation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A schedule allowing a noncustodial parent or other designated person to spend time with a child, whether established by court order in accordance with parental due process limits or by written agreement of the parties.
Vanessa Vega, the fit mother of two young children, refuses her own mother's request for weekly visitation after the parents' divorce. The grandmother petitions under a state statute that lets any person seek visitation based solely on the child's best interests. The court denies the petition, holding that the statute fails to give special weight to the mother's decision and therefore violates her due process rights.
Vincente Vukovic and Viola Volkov sign a written separation agreement after deciding to end their marriage. The agreement sets a detailed visitation schedule for their two children and provides for child support. When Vincente later files for dissolution, the court incorporates the visitation terms into the decree without further modification because the parties reached an amicable settlement.
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Victor Vargas holds primary custody of his daughter under a State A decree that grants specific visitation weekends to the mother, Valentina Vasquez, now living in State B. When Valentina moves to enforce the schedule in State B, the court lacks modification jurisdiction but issues a temporary order enforcing the existing visitation schedule for ninety days while Valentina seeks relief in State A.
Virgil Volpe and his former spouse submit their ongoing disagreement over holiday visitation to binding arbitration under a family-law arbitration agreement. The arbitrator issues an award that adjusts the parenting-time calendar to accommodate the child's school schedule. The award is confirmed by the court and becomes an enforceable order.
Vanessa Vega and her spouse reach a separation agreement that ties reduced visitation for the noncustodial parent to a favorable property division. The court finds the property terms unconscionable after reviewing the parties' economic circumstances and refuses to enforce those provisions while leaving the visitation schedule intact for separate determination.
Vincente Vukovic obtains a child-custody determination in State A that grants the mother visitation rights but contains no specific schedule. When the mother later seeks enforcement in State B, the court issues a temporary order specifying visitation periods sufficient to allow her to return to State A and obtain a detailed schedule from the court with proper jurisdiction.
Yes. A state statute that permits any person to obtain visitation based solely on a best-interests determination, without according special weight to a fit parent's wishes, is overbroad and violates the parent's due process rights.
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Yes. Parties to a marriage may enter a written separation agreement that addresses custody and visitation of their children to promote amicable settlement of disputes arising from separation or dissolution.
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Yes. A court lacking modification jurisdiction may still issue a temporary order enforcing a visitation schedule or the visitation provisions of another state's custody determination.
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Yes. A child-related dispute includes any family-law dispute regarding visitation or parenting time, so such matters may be submitted to arbitration under a valid agreement.
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…stronger than the record in Michael H. v. Gerald D. , 491 U. S. 110 (1989), where the plurality found no fundamental right to visitation privileges by an adulterous father, or in Bowers v. Hardwick , 478 U. S. 186 (1986), where the Court found no fundamental right to engage in homosexual sodomy, or in a case involving the…