Supervised Visits Out Of State Father

by Anonymous from Florida

Can I demand supervised visits only for my child's father? My son is 6 years and old and doesn't know his father because his father never wanted to be a part of his life when he was born.

The father pays child support through the courts in Washington state where I used to live but now after almost 6 years he all of a sudden wants a relationship with his son.

The problem is my son doesn't know him & will see his father as a stranger. The father wants to see him right away but I want my son to gradually get to know him through phone calls/web cam and supervised visits.

Can I deny him visitation until he knows him? If not, can I at least demand supervised visits?

Answer to Florida Child Visitation Question

Dear Anonymous,

If you divorced in Washington State, your divorce decree should state the custody and visitation agreement you entered into.

This agreement is what your ex is legally allowed as far as contact with your son.

As long as the there are no other orders modifying the original divorce decree, you are legally bound to abide by it.

Any change to your custody and visitation arrangement must be done so through the courts.

As Florida residents, you can have the court enter a Parenting Plan, but the process can be tricky to do pro se because of the competing jurisdictions. I recommend that you seek legal advice for a change of this nature.

The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, UCCJEA, allows for a specific procedure and guidelines for a change of venue. In your case, as you and the child both reside in Florida, you may be able to have jurisdiction transferred.


However, the act allows for the original state to keep jurisdiction. If your ex still lives in the original jurisdiction he will have rights as well. This is a complicated area of the law.
If you can have a Florida court establish jurisdiction, you can enter a Parenting Plan that specifies the conditions for custody, time sharing, and visitation.

A Supervised Parenting Plan is normally used in cases when you feel your children cannot be safely alone with the other parent or if you believe shared parental responsibility presents a detriment to the children.

So, in your case, I suggest you contact a Florida Family Law Attorney for a consultation to get specific legal advice for your situation. Here are some related pages on our site about UCCJEA and Jurisdiction that should help you:

Moving Child Visitation Order

Visitation State Jurisdiction

Notice: We provide these answers to the general public and our website visitors as a means to further their online legal research. These answers are merely suggestions and should not be regarded as legal advice.

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