If you are dealing with the difficult task of negotiating a parenting time schedule, you need a supportive legal team that can provide knowledgeable guidance and personal reassurance. At Alward Fisher, you will get just that.
With more than a century of legal experience combined, our firm’s top-tier attorneys are backed by a caring and dedicated support staff. We strive to provide personalized attention and service so you know your rights are in good hands. If you have more questions about parenting time, contact Alward Fisher for an initial case evaluation with a compassionate child custody lawyer from our team.
What Is Parenting Time?
When parents separate or divorce, a “parenting time” agreement refers to the scheduled time each parent spends with their child. The agreement usually allows each parent alternating blocks of time that can span from a few hours to a few weeks. Parenting time recognizes that every parent has the right to have contact with their child to build an emotional bond and should share in parenting responsibilities.
Co-parents can choose to negotiate a parenting time schedule that works for the whole family. However, a parent can go to court to get an enforceable order establishing the parenting schedule in situations where parents cannot agree, a parent wishes to change an existing schedule, or a parent isn’t following the ordered schedule.
How to File for Parenting Time in Michigan
When you and your spouse are divorcing, you can request that child custody and parenting time be litigated in your divorce proceedings. At the outset of your case, you can file a motion with the court to establish a temporary parenting schedule to get you through the duration of the proceeding. If you and your spouse are able to negotiate and agree on a parenting schedule, you can also petition the court to enter an order adopting the agreement. This allows parents to have an enforceable court order reflective of a mutually agreeable schedule.
When one or both parents petition the court for a parenting time schedule, the court will usually try to facilitate mediation between parents to reach a mutually acceptable arrangement. If parents simply cannot agree, the judge will establish a parenting schedule for the parents. Unless it is found to be contrary to the best interests of the child, courts generally prefer a parenting time schedule that provides for equal time with both parents, often utilizing alternating weeks.
How Do You Modify Visitation or Parenting Time?
Even if you have a parenting time agreement or court-ordered schedule, your schedule may become less workable for you, your co-parent, or your children. When that occurs, you can file a motion to modify the parenting time schedule, including adjusting the schedule of custody exchanges or increasing the amount of parenting time you are afforded.
However, courts only grant motions to modify custody or parenting time when there’s a change in circumstances. The court must also find that adjusting the custodial arrangement would serve the child’s best interests. There are different evidentiary burdens that apply to a motion to modify custody and a motion to modify parenting time.
How to Enforce Parenting Time in Michigan
Parents can mutually agree to amend their parenting time arrangement or deviate from a court-ordered schedule. However, if you want to stick to the schedule but your co-parent is not following the court’s order, you can file a motion with the court.
The court can then issue an order requiring your co-parent to abide by the parenting time order and grant you other relief, such as make-up parenting time. If your co-parent continues to disregard the court’s order, the court can impose harsher sanctions, such as finding the non-compliant parent in contempt.
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What Does the Judge Consider When Deciding Parenting Time?
When deciding how to assign parenting time between parents, judges are legally required to ensure any parenting time schedule serves the child’s best interests. Courts determine a child’s “best interests” by considering all relevant factors listed in MCL §722.23. These factors include the following:
- The existing emotional bond between the child and each of their parents
- The capacity and willingness of each parent to provide their child with love, affection, and guidance and to support the child’s education and moral development
- The ability of each parent to provide for the child’s necessities, including food, clothing, housing, medical care, and other material needs
- The length of time the child has lived in the present parenting time arrangement, and if that arrangement has provided a stable and beneficial environment
- The permanence of the family unit in each parent’s current or proposed custodial home
- The moral fitness and the mental and physical health of each parent
- The child’s home, school, and community ties
- Any inconvenience of traveling that will be necessary for the child
- The child’s expressed preference, if the court finds the child is mature enough to arrive at and express their preference
- The willingness of each parent to encourage a close parent-child relationship with their child’s other parent
- Any history of domestic violence by either parent
Can the Child Decide Where to Live?
A child’s preference is included in the statutory best interest factors used by the court when deciding custody and parenting time issues. If the court finds that a child is of age and mature enough to express a meaningful preference, the judge must consider this preference. However, this does not mean your child can choose where they want to live. Instead, the court will balance all the relevant factors to come to a custodial arrangement the court finds is in your child’s best interests.
Contact a Child Custody Lawyer for Help Filing for Parenting Time
If you need to go to court to establish or modify a parenting time schedule between you and your co-parent, get the experienced legal help you need to guide you through the process. We understand that dealing with all aspects of child custody can be emotional and overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Contact Alward Fisher today to speak with a child custody lawyer from our firm and learn more about your parenting rights in Michigan.
