How to Get More Visitation Time With My Child

Visitation (referred to as “time-sharing” in Florida) can be an emotionally charged matter. If you feel that your existing time-sharing schedule isn’t conducive to growing your relationship with your child, you may be wondering how to go about getting more time. If you approach your child’s other parent about increasing your visitation rights and he or she agrees to the change, that’s great—all you’ll need to do is have your respective attorneys draft a new agreement, then submit that agreement to the judge for approval.

Unfortunately, for many parents—and especially for those in highly contentious situations—it won’t be that easy to get the other parent to agree to a change. If that’s the case for you, and your child’s other parent has refused to adjust the time-sharing schedule, you’ll need to take a different approach. You’ll have to file a petition with the court demonstrating that an unanticipated, substantial change in circumstances has occurred since the existing agreement was created, and that the requested modification would be in your child’s best interests. Drafting and filing this type of petition can be a complicated process, so it’s important that you seek assistance from an attorney with considerable family law experience. Once you’ve filed your petition with the court, your child’s other parent will have the opportunity to respond, and then the court will hold a hearing and issue a decision.

How to Plead Your Case

As noted above, your petition will need to explain why the change that you’re requesting would be in your child’s best interests. You could argue this in a number of different ways. For example, if you rarely see your child, you could potentially argue that it’s in your child’s best interests to build a relationship with both parents, and that the only way for that to happen is to increase your visitation time. When you meet with your attorney, he or she will be able to help you formulate a strategy based on your specific circumstances.

Family Law Attorneys Serving Tampa Bay Clients

If you need an attorney to assist you with preparing and filing a petition for modification of a time-sharing schedule, you can turn to the Law Offices of Audrey A. Jefferis, P.A. Contact us today to schedule a consultation at either of our two offices.