The more technology evolves, the more it forces the world to evolve with it. This is certainly true in the case of custody agreements. Virtual visitation is becoming a common way for parents to exercise their right to spend time with their children. The question is how exactly it affects custody law as it has always been known.
Do you have questions or concerns about virtual visitations in your custody agreement? A knowledgeable and dedicated lawyer can relieve you of the guesswork. Get started today by calling the Lento Law Firm at 888.535.3686 or filling out this contact form.
What is Virtual Visitation?
If technology serves as a medium for communication between parents and their children, it's virtual visitation. Parents first started using it in divorce and child custody agreements during the 1990s, and it has become more common as technological advances facilitated a variety of different methods. Emails, texts, instant messages, phone calls, and video calls are common examples. Visitations are also possible through interactive online video games and exchanging sound or video clips.
What is the Role of Virtual Visitation in Custody Agreements?
Parents and children can't always meet up in person. Sometimes, the parent is incarcerated or lives too far away, or they're too sick to leave their home. During COVID-19, virtual visitations were frequently the only method of communication between parents and children who complied with lockdown guidelines. In fact, that's when virtual visitations skyrocketed.
Parents can often engage in virtual visitations in addition to in-person ones, allowing them to further develop their relationships with their children outside scheduled meetings. In extreme cases, however, judges restrict parents solely to virtual visitations if they're deemed too unstable or dangerous to be with their children physically but still want to maintain a relationship.
What to Know About Virtual Visitation in New Jersey
New Jersey is currently one of 18 states that allow virtual visitation, though this privilege comes with rules and guidelines. For example, the court must usually approve when and how frequently virtual visitations can occur, at least for things that require coordinating schedules, like video calls and gaming. The courts strive to take both parents' needs and lifestyles into account to create virtual visitation plans that work for everyone involved.
Also, visitations aren't just for parents. Grandparents and adult siblings can request visitations as well, including virtual ones, provided they can prove that it's in the best interest of the child or children.
Let the Lento Law Firm Help
Custody agreements can be complicated enough without figuring out how virtual visitation fits into them. Whether you have questions or concerns about your own virtual visitations or those of your co-parent, the Lento Law Firm is prepared to assist you. Call them today at 888.535.3686 or fill out this contact form to learn more.
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