Navigating Custody Cases When Incarceration Is Involved
Are you in a child custody situation and you’re looking at the possibility of either you or the other parent being incarcerated? You’re probably wondering how that’s going to affect custody and visitation. I’m Tulsa family law attorney Carl Birkhead with Wirth Law Office in Oklahoma. I’ve been practicing family and criminal law for a little over seven years now, and I want to help make law easy by talking about how incarceration plays into custody cases.
So a lot of people would think if someone is in jail, clearly they’re not going to be able to have visitation with their kid. Sometimes that’s right. That’s not always the case though. I’ve seen cases where maybe a child’s in DHS custody, and if it’s able to be done safely and appropriately that’s not traumatizing to the child, the state will still be ordered to facilitate visitation with the parent that’s incarcerated.
Facilitating Visitation with an Incarcerated Parent
I’ve seen cases where maybe it’s just you’re working off of a custody and visitation order from a divorce or a paternity case, and you know the parent who’s not incarcerated still wants to facilitate that parent-child relationship. They will let you make arrangements to go and allow for some sort of visitation. As long as the incarcerated parent is not a violent person or a danger to themselves or others, there are ways that it can be worked out as long as it’s going to be safe and appropriate for the child.
Now that’s not always the case. I’ve had plenty of cases where my client was in a heated custody battle with his ex trying to figure out who was going to get custody, and who was going to visitation and then his ex ended up getting locked up and locked up for a long time. In that situation, visitation just stopped. The order that got put in place just addressed if and when they got out of prison before the child turned 18, visitation might happen in this way or that way but while they’re incarcerated just no visitation at all.
The Judge’s Role in Determining Visitation Rights
That happens a lot. It just is on a case-by-case basis. It depends on what the judge thinks is going to be in the best interest of the child because ultimately this all comes down to what’s in the best interest of the child. If you have questions about this, if you’re facing some jail time, or if you have reason to believe that your co-parent is looking at getting locked up, absolutely give us a call.
Schedule a Low-Cost Initial Strategy Session
We can help you navigate this process. We can help you figure out the best way to ensure that your child is protected. I’m Tulsa family lawyer Carl Birkhead with Wirth Law Office, and I want to help make law easy. Call us today at 918-879-1681 to schedule a low-cost strategy session and get the guidance you need to protect your child’s best interests.
