Supervised access is an exception; it is not in the custody rule. In this access, the court can order that parents’ time with their child will be under supervision. The child can not stay alone with the parent. It is supervised by any third party like friends or relatives from the family. 

Spending time with kids is essential for every parent, but in some cases, the judge has to order the parent’s time and visitation to the child supervised for the child’s safety and well being. It is not the process that you and your spouse find interesting and fun for your kids. 

If you are requesting supervised access, then take consultation from an attorney in Knoxville, Tn, as they can tell you the facts and the pros and cons of the supervised access. In this guide, let’s discuss why you need to think twice before requesting supervised access and know some limitations of it in child custody.

Limitations of supervised access:

• Supervised visitation sucks. It usually occurs at the courthouse or child Haven, and you and your kid will not enjoy it at all as there are persons involved to keep a watch.

• It is a very uncomfortable situation for everyone involved, as it seems like you have placed your child under a microscope to keep a constant eye on.

• It might take a long time to order from the court as it needs to be a vital decision for your child’s safety. It is an expensive process to request a court for a supervised visit.

• You have to make your family member or friend prepared for a full examination by the judge. Sometimes it can go wrong too. You need to carefully consider visitation supervision and take advice from a Knoxville lawyer. As your mother or your ex-spouse mother would not be a good choice to go for supervision.

• The supervisor should be neutral in the case where there is child abuse or domestic violation. It can be a school teacher, church leader, or any childcare facility where your child can attend. The judge can also put a safeguard for the well being of them.

• The court will not approve the proposed supervisor if they have a criminal history or violence record or take drugs. There should not be a hard feeling also between the proposed supervisor and the other parent.

• It is a crucial process, and you need to make sure that the supervisor will be present on time to accommodate the visit. If they continuously cancel the visit, the judge will not like the behavior.

• Some services are engaged, such as counseling or evaluation or substance abuse treatment; if you failed, it often leads the judge to restrict parental access. 
• You can visit your child by paying a fee at a local supervised visitation facility based on your circumstance. It is very strange to pay fees to visit your child.
• Your supervisor needs to give a report of every incident and provide a constant status update to judge how the visitation sessions are going. 

• Your supervisor may not be able to leave sessions for work or any other commitments frequently; he/she needs to be present all time.

• Orders can be very restrictive, too, depending on what the court finds it appropriate. They can state that the parent can visit the child at a specified location with the court’s supervision.

• It will not be favorable to you if you don’t have primary custody of the child as your ex-spouse has primary custody given the right to choose when and where the supervised visitation will occur.

Conclusion: 

Knowing all the limitations of supervised access makes it advisable for both parents to take a step ahead by thinking twice. As in some processes, it will work very well, but it gets worse in some processes as many factors are needed to keep in mind, and the situation may go out of control. It is best to have an attorney to guide, and an attorney in Knoxville has experience in family cases, which will give you the best advice.