I have just separated from my child’s parent. What are my rights to see my child?
When you separate from the other parent of your child, it is essential to organize the terms of residence, visitation rights in the best interests of the child. These rights are intended to maintain regular contact between the child and each of their parents.
The child’s residence arrangements are determined by a judge or decided by mutual agreement between the parents. Several possible arrangements exist:
● Alternating residence: the child lives alternately with each parent (e.g., every other week). This arrangement requires good relations between the parents and geographical proximity.
● Traditional residence: the child lives mainly with one parent, and the other parent has traditional visiting and accommodation rights (e.g., every other weekend and half of the school holidays) or extended rights (e.g., Tuesday evening to Thursday morning).
● Reduced residence: the child lives exclusively with one parent, with more limited visitation rights for the other parent (e.g., one day per week, without overnight stays), depending on their abilities and availability.
● Supervised visitation rights: in cases of serious conflict, violence, or danger to the child, visits are supervised in a neutral and monitored location (parent-child meeting space).
To best assess the situation, the judge may order a social investigation, a medical-psychological assessment, or even hear your child’s testimony. The choice depends in particular on the child’s age, emotional stability, the geographical distance between the parents’ homes and the school, and the parents’ ability to cooperate calmly in the best interests of their child.
Visitation and accommodation rights of the parent with whom the child does not reside:
If your child does not live primarily with you, you can obtain visitation and/or accommodation rights. These can be agreed upon with the other parent in writing and, if necessary, approved by the family court judge. If no agreement can be reached, the judge will determine the terms, taking into account the best interests of the child.
In the event of non-compliance with visitation rights:
If the parent with whom the child lives prevents you from exercising your visitation or accommodation rights, you can obtain enforcement if you have a court order or a parental agreement.
Repeated refusal may constitute a criminal offense and the refusing parent may be convicted. You can file a criminal complaint.
It is recommended that you first engage in dialogue or seek family mediation in order to reach an agreement.
Gaëtan ESCUDEY is available to assist you in establishing or modifying visitation rights with regard to your child, favoring amicable solutions whenever possible.