Matt is nine years old. His mom and dad divorced one
year ago and he has been living with his mom ever since. She has custody of
Matt, who usually visits his dad once a week (“access”). Two weeks ago Matt’s mom stopped the visits.
Mom wants Matt’s dad only to get access with Matt if it
is “supervised”, because she wants to know everything they do together. Matt’s
mom feels that this reason is enough to limit access and even to refuse to allow
Matt’s dad have access with Matt at all.
Matt’s dad believes that there is no need for supervision
when he has access visits with Matt. He
wants to continue seeing Matt on his own.
Matt misses his father and he has no idea what supervised
access means. Matt is worried that he will never be able to see his dad again.
Legal
Information
What is
supervised access?
Supervised access means that you may not be alone
while you visit with your parent. The purpose of supervised access to is primarily
to ensure the child’s safety, but may also be used to monitor an access
parent’s alienating behaviour (i.e., where he or she tries to break the bond
between the child and the other parent), for example. Not all families need
supervised access. In cases where a
children’s aid society thinks it is necessary, supervised access may be ordered
by a court, unless both parents agree to it. Both parents have a right to be
heard in court about whether they think supervised access is necessary.
Supervised access can mean that you must have your
access visits at a specific person’s house, or that you must always have another
person with you to supervise when you visit your access parent. The person
supervising can be a family member or another trusted person but usually this
must be first determined by the court.
Can
Matt’s access visits with his dad be stopped altogether?
It is not Mom’s decision alone whether to cancel
access between Matt and Dad. Unless both
parents agree, the decision about whether to restrict access would be made by a
Judge in court. Access will usually only
be stopped altogether in extreme cases or under special circumstances, for
example, when serious child abuse has been proven and the abusing parent
refuses treatment.
Parents cannot
refuse to pay child support because they cannot get access or choose not to
visit their child. However, access will not be denied because a parent fails to
pay child support. Access and child support and separate legal issues. There
are other ways to get support from a non-paying parent.
Written By Lina Maria Sanchez (PLE Team Volunteer) and Meghan Lindo (JFCY law/Masters of social work practicum student from UofT)
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