Reasonable Visitation too Vague For Most Judges

Having the term “reasonable visitation” included in a Judgment for Dissolution was widely accepted until the mid 1990’s.  Several Judges in Cook County found that there court rooms were filling up with post-decree visitation issues.  The issue revolved around what was meant by “reasonable” when it came to visitation:  Did that mean every weekend, alternating holidays, one day per week, one evening per week, etc.  With the post-decree problem increasing, Judges figured that the best way to remedy the problem was to require more comprehensive language in the original Judgments.

So there went the words “reasonable visitation” from the majority of Judgments.  Instead, the Judges began to require a detailed and itemized visitation schedule before they would grant a Judgment.  What this did was force the parties to address the visitation issue with some sense of certainty prior to receiving a divorce.  The added framework within the divorce Judgment has provided structure and guidance.  The parties now know what type and what frequency of visitation is awarded in their particular case.  For the most part, the guesswork has been eliminated.

Although some attorneys who practice heavily in post-decree issues may wish that “reasonable visitation” was still the norm, most would agree that a detailed visitation schedule is superior for the parties, attorneys and the court.

See Also:

Family Visitation 

Supervised Visitation

Under The Influence and Visitation Don’t Mix

Stepparents Rights of Visitation