Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

child right to choose visitation

My husband just received a summons from his ex-wife stating that ''the child wants to stop visition; he wants to talk to the judge.'' My step-son is 13 years old. Can he do this? My husband and I don't drink or smoke and are not abusive. As it stands now, visitation is every other weekend. The child visited the weekend of Dec. 1st, but for Dec.15th, he did not come (his mom did not leave him at the drop-off location with his grandparents)

My husband and I got into an argument over something unrelated the last time the child visited, but it was not violent or anything like that. Will the courts take away all visitation from my husband, even if that's what the child wants? My husband pays child support. What can we do? We actually think the child would benefit from seeing us more, as he is doing very poorly in school and his mother would not allow us to tutor and help him with his schoolwork. Education is important in our home (I am a college graduate-Master's, and the child's mother is a drop-out). The child's mother refuses to work with us on any level. We live in a smaller town and wish to know what could happen. Thanks and God bless.


Asked on 12/21/06, 11:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: child right to choose visitation

First of all, it's very likely that it is not the child but the child's mother who is behind the move to curtail your husband's visitation. And even though the boy is 13 years old(which means that the court gives some wieght to the child's preferences)and is only a step son in terms of his relationship to your husband, I find it very unlikely that in considering what is in this boy's best interests that any court "would take away all visitation" from your husband(unless , of course, he's committed some grave act or omission with respect to the child which would compel such a court to do so).

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Answered on 12/22/06, 9:08 am


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