Well in the Paynich v. Vestal reported case out of the North Carolina Court of Appeals on January 7, 2020, I bet the court was wishing there was a FBPL had been in place. The basic facts of the case were that Husband and Wife were married for fifteen (15) years and separated almost immediately after their daughter was born. To put it simply, mom appears to have mental health issues and was harmful to the child. The court found that the case is a high conflict custody case, which is a special designation for difficult cases or to put it more accurately, for difficult or poorly behaved parents.

Dad granted custody and Mom was ordered to have supervised custody in 2015. In 2016 the parties went back to court and Mom was granted some unsupervised visitation. Back to court again in 2018 and Dad still granted custody, but mom granted both supervised and unsupervised visitation.

This was a big deal because before a court can order supervised visitation, the other side must prove that the parent is unfit or that visitation rights are not in the best interests of the child. You see, supervised visitation is a limitation so severe that it is considered a deprivation of be unfit before supervision can be ordered.

So how can the court order both supervised and unsupervised visitation? Can a parent be fit for some unsupervised visitation and some supervised visitation? How does that even work?

First, what was mom doing that made supervision necessary anyway? The court found that the minor child was more aggressive and defiant after visits. She soiled her pants more often and became aggressive in play. Mom vandalized Dad’s truck during an exchange, caused a scene in the child’s classroom with the child there, and Mom was upset in the school pick up line in the presence of the minor child. Mom also hid the minor child from Dad during an exchange, causing him to go rushing between two locations seeking the child. Through all of this, Mom could not see how her behavior harmed the minor child.

So yes, the court can order both if a structured schedule specifically works for the child. Do you need a structured visitation schedule with supervision of the child and the other parent? Keep records on a calendar of the negative things going on, ensure the child is in counseling, and get to an attorney right away.

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