Sometimes, in child custody matters, one of the parents will be granted primary physical custody of the child. When this occurs, the other parent is generally granted a certain amount of visitation time. Different states have different rules regarding how to determine how much visitation time a given non-custodial parent will be granted.
Currently, in another state, a bill regarding visitation time is being considered. The state in question is Illinois. The bill is currently in the state’s house of representatives.
The bill would set a minimum for the amount of visitation time a non-custodial parent is to be granted in situations where the custodial parent and the non-custodial parent are not able to come to an agreement regarding visitation and the non-custodial parent is deemed a fit parent. The minimum the bill would set would be around 60 hours a week. Currently in Illinois, the typical amount of visitation time granted to non-custodial parents is less than 30 hours a week.
Proponents of the bill argue that the bill would help ensure that children of divorced parents get sufficient bonding time with both parents and could help reduce contentious child custody battles.
Opponents argue that the bill creates too mechanical of a process when it comes to child visitation and that it would make the system less able to tailor visitation decisions to the specific circumstances in a case.
When it comes to any bill regarding child custody or visitation, one of the key questions to consider is: would the bill have a positive or negative effect on children?
What are your thoughts on the bill that Illinois is considering? What impacts do you think it would have on child visitation cases and children? Do you think the bill should be passed? Do you think such a bill should be considered here in Texas?
Source: The State Journal-Register, “‘Shared Parenting’ bill would set new visitation rules,” Tobias Wall, March 19, 2014