When you separate or divorce, you need to decide who will have custody of your children and how they will be taken care of. You also need to decide on visitation, which means how each parent will spend time with the children. With the help of a divorce attorney, parents typically either agree among themselves, or have a court issue an order on custody and visitation.

When a there is a court order in place, the parties must adhere to the order or face potential repercussions from the court. A court order can either be entered based on an agreement by the parties, or a ruling of the court after a hearing.

Parties may also agree among themselves, without a court order, on how they will have custody of their children. When there is not a court order in place as to custody, the parties typically will not be able to enforce the agreement if one party fails to adhere to it. Regardless of whether an agreement on child custody, without a court order is oral or written, the other party will not be required to follow it.

Quality time with children is invaluable to most parents. Perhaps this is why child custody and visitation issues are often the most contentious when parties separate or divorce. Having a court order in place, is the best way to ensure that a parent’s custody and visitation rights are protected.

Speaking with an experienced, knowledgeable family law attorney is the best to way to determine what options are available to protect your rights.