Child Visitation Rights During Divorce: Temporary Orders

Child Visitation Rights During Divorce: Temporary Orders

Going through a divorce can take as little time as a few months, or it can take several years in contested cases. While you and your soon-to-be-ex-spouse work through all of the issues that you must address in your divorce, from property division to alimony, your children often wait in limbo.

Child custody and visitation are essential aspects of the final divorce decree, but you also need to deal with these issues while the divorce is pending as well. To address these sensitive issues, courts in Oklahoma will often immediately issue temporary orders to address where children will live, who pays for their care, and visitations issues.

These orders are temporary and last only as long as the divorce process but can have a huge impact on the final order in a divorce matter.

What is a Temporary Order?

A temporary order addresses any issue that needs to be resolved immediately after a married couple files for divorce. Issues that deal with children are perhaps the most important aspects of a temporary order, but they can address things like:

• Who lives in the family home and who must find another place to live
• Who drives which car?
• How bills are paid

A judge will generally issue a temporary order only after a hearing, but the hearing is scheduled quickly and is not as formal as a final trial on these issues.

Child Visitation Under Temporary Orders

Temporary orders will address where children will live during the divorce process. They will also set out specific visitation rights for the non-custodial spouse.

Parents should take advantage of these visitation rights during the divorce. If you do not use your visitation time, that can be a signal to the court that you are not interested in having or maintaining custody of your child, which can be a huge issue at the final trial.

Many parents make the mistake of not taking the temporary order hearing seriously. They may get an attorney right away, or they may not prepare properly—don’t let this happen to you. Making a sincere effort to show the judge (and your children) that you care can go a long way when a final order is entered in your divorce.

If you need quality representation, call Phillip Owens at Owens’ Law Office, 405-608-0708.