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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Visitation
Read a random definition: supplicium
A quick definition of Visitation:
Visitation: When parents are not living together, the parent who doesn't live with the child has the right to visit them. Sometimes, a court decides what's best for the child. Other people, like grandparents, can ask for visitation too, but the court has to make sure it's good for the child. In one case, the Supreme Court said a law that let grandparents visit their grandkids without the parents' permission was not fair to the parents' rights.
A more thorough explanation:
Visitation is a legal term that refers to the right of a parent who does not have custody of their child to spend time with them. This usually happens when the parents are divorced or separated. The court will decide how often and for how long the non-custodial parent can visit their child.
For example, if a couple gets divorced and the mother gets custody of the children, the father may be granted visitation rights. This means he can see his children on certain days or weekends, depending on what the court decides is in the best interest of the children.
It's important to note that visitation rights can also be granted to other family members, such as grandparents. However, in some cases, the court may decide that it's not in the best interest of the child to have visitation with certain family members.
For instance, in the case of Troxel v. Granville, the Supreme Court ruled that a Washington state law allowing grandparents to petition for visitation rights violated the mother's constitutional right to make decisions about her children's upbringing. The law allowed anyone to ask for visitation rights at any time, even if the parent objected. The court found that this law was too broad and did not take into account the best interests of the child.