Custodia

“Supervised parent-time” means that the noncustodial parent can spend time with the child, but they must be accompanied by someone the judge has approved to be there.¹

If you’re worried about the abuser being alone with your child, you might be thinking about asking the judge to order supervised parent-time. If you are already in court because the abuser filed a case, you may not have much to lose by asking for supervised parent-time as long as you can give the judge a good reason for it, but this may depend on your situation.

However, if there isn’t a case yet, it’s a good idea to get legal advice first before starting a case to ask for supervised parent-time. Talking to a custody lawyer can help you understand what you need to prove to get supervised visits and how long they might last, based on the facts of your case.

In most cases, supervised parent-time is only temporary. Although the exact order will vary by state, county, or judge, the judge might order a professional or a relative to supervise a certain number of visits. If there are no obvious problems, the parent-time will likely become unsupervised. At the end of a case, the other parent often ends up with more frequent and longer visits than s/he had before you went to court, and s/he may even get some form of custody.

In some cases, to protect your child from immediate danger by the abuser, it may be appropriate to start a case asking for custody and supervised parent-time. To find out what may be best for you to do, please go to Utah Finding a Lawyer to seek out legal advice.

¹ UT ST § 81-9-101(12)