Q: Can I request a parental fitness eval for a non-custodial, wheelchair bound parent that has unsupervised visitation?
I am an unmarried single mother that has a temporary order for sole legal and physical custody of my 1 year child in MA. Child’s father lives out of state in Maryland and judge has ordered a temporary, unsupervised visitation schedule for father to come to MA every other weekend for 6 hours. Father is wheelchair-bound and has significant physical limitations (e.g., cannot drive, cannot climb stairs, cannot carry infant in car seat, crawls when not out of wheelchair, high fall risk, etc.) Do I have a case to request an amendment for supervised visitation or a court-ordered parental physical eval due to father’s physical disability? Thank you
A: So you already had this matter heard and got this temporary order. You may be able to have an interlocutory appeal depending upon how long ago the order issued.
A: From a practical standpoint, even though he was granted visits, how often is he going to be able to travel from Maryland to Massachusetts for a 6-hour visit? You may want to wait and see how things go. Judges usually give parents the opportunity to show they can parent successfully, but if it doesn't go well, you could ask to modify the temporary order. Just make sure you comply with the order and don't disrupt his parenting time or that will work against you.
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