Q: Visitation plan question
So my wife attached the visitation plan with divorce papers, and the visitation plan says I can visit my kids twice a month on the second and fourth weekends of every month. However, I read online that if you don’t visit them twice a month, it's considered a court violation. But the question here is that my kids live in Canada and I’m here in the States, and I can’t afford to go to Canada twice a month. What should I do?
A: If you do not agree with the terms, do not sign the agreement. It is not a violation for you not to visit your children, so do not sign anything that says that it is.
A: You should hire an attorney to represent you in this case because there are several things you don't understand. First, you don't have to agree to a parenting plan proposed by your spouse. Second, it doesn't specify whether this is a contested divorce or an uncontested divorce. But if this is uncontested, at a minimum, hire your own attorney to assist you in drafting a proper parenting plan. Third, it is not a court violation if a non-custodial parent is unable to exercise visitation. It may be brought up if you ever go back to court on a modification how many days you have missed of visitation. But you are not in violation of an order if you can't visit your child. But you should never agree to visitation multiple times a month for someone who lives in another country. There is no way most people would be able to exercise that. So that tells me the parenting plan you have been submitted is wholly incorrect, you should not sign it, and you should hire your own lawyer to represent you in this divorce.
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