Legal Question in Family Law in Missouri

Re: supervised visitation

I would suggest that the mother of the child consult with an attorney. It may be possible for her to file a Motion to Modify the existing Judgment. Everything would depend upon the specific facts of the case.

Re: supervised visitation

This depends on several things. If the court order has specific times, places, etc. for the supervised visits then your daughter can file a family access motion with the court. This motion basically tells the judge she is being denied her visitation rights as set forth by the court. The judge will then have a hearing on why the son-in-law shouldn't be held in contempt of court. The clerk's office can help her fill out the motion form. She will need to obtain it from their office.

If there is nothing specified in the court order about times, places, etc. for your daughter to see her son, she is at the mercy of the son-in-law until she goes back into court to get it changed. If she is not at th point where the supervised visits can be changed, she can go in and ask the court to specify when, where and who supervises the visits. This she will have to pay an attorney for to help her. If she can't afford a private attorney she might try consulting with legal aid.

Also, some cities have child advocates and services to supervise the visits. She might check with the clerk's office to see if there are any available where she lives. If so, she might be able to arrange a visit through this service. The son-in-law will have a hard time explaining to the judge the reason for not doing this type of visitation if it is available.

Good luck.