Non-Custodial Parents: How to Maintain a Relationship with Your Child

It is important for you to maintain a relationship with your child. Follow these tips if you are a non-custodial parent.

Even if you have resolved your initial California child custody dilemma, long distances separating a non-custodial parent from his or her child requires great efforts to maintain and/or develop a healthy relationship. Here are some tips to help you out:

1. Pay child support – It may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many child support disputes arise out of miscommunication between parents or financial issues. If you believe that you are paying too much child support, or not receiving enough, an experienced child support attorney in California can help you determine what is fair based on government benefits, wages, investments, and other types of income.

2. Get involved with your child’s school – Why not request to be put on your child’s school mailing list? This way, you can keep track of special activities or events that your child participates in so if you cannot attend, at least you can communicate your sentiments.

3. Call your child on a regular basis – This effort goes a long way and it shows your child that you care about what’s going on in his or her life. Discuss a convenient time to chat so you can both enjoy the conversation and make it something to look forward to.

4. Exercise your visitation rights – The parent assigned exclusive custody (legal and physical) in court or through settlement, must allow the non-custodial parent to exercise designated visitation rights in California. A non-custodial parent who lives thousands of miles away still has reasonable visitation rights.

Aside from these suggestions, there are many other ways for a non-custodial parent to keep in contact with his or her child so that the parent is not “divorced” from the child as well. If you have any questions regarding child custody in California, please contact the family law attorneys at Wallin & Klarich. We can help you through the financial, legal, and emotional aspects of your child custody case so that you can attain legal or physical custody. Call us today at (888) 749-7428 for more information.