I have court-ordered mediation coming up and I’ve had trouble deciding how to come to a new custody arrangement. My coparent is currently on a step parenting plan consisting of 2 days a week. 50/50 was our previous arrangement, but I took him back to court due to him being absent in our child’s life for 2 years straight, only visiting her when he felt like it. We have not had the step up parenting plan for long, as it was solidified in April. My coparent has prompted a court date for 50/50 custody with a request to lift a protection order the court put in place restricting his current girlfriend from having any contact with our daughter. I’m sure it’s child support motivated. The court placed this protection order in 2021 due to domestic violence. My daughter is 7, and despite this protection order being placed, it is constantly violated. My coparent lives in a small home, and when my daughter goes to sleep at night, he brings the girlfriend over and allows her to be there, and they have physical fights. He’s constantly on the phone with her around our child and allows her to speak to my daughter on the phone. When my daughter walks out into a room, the girlfriend will run and hide under clothing piles/blankets. When I try to describe this relationship, I mean extreme toxicity. My coparent will constantly try to tell my daughter bad things about me and will place my daughter with other people on his parenting time whom at times neither I nor my daughter know. This is because the girlfriend has nowhere to go. Most recently, he placed our daughter with the violent girlfriend’s sister and her children for most of his parenting time, and they allowed my daughter to have telephone contact with the girlfriend while she was there. I have reported every incident in any way I can. On father’s request for custody change, he didn’t show to mediation but did come to the hearing. The court saw all of the documents, and I spoke emotionally as a mother at how devastating this is on our child, and my coparent just does what he wants and listens to no one. The court saw reason for concern and will be interviewing our daughter while also telling my coparent to stop or he will lose custody altogether, and they will make a permanent protection order. Even after this hearing, he is still not listening. By placing our daughter with the girlfriend’s sister, I feel this is the last straw for me, and I need to be proactive here. Does this seem reasonable to ask for supervised visitation at this point? How will it work requesting this in mediation and then having it adopted at the future court date if it’s suggested since he’s currently on 2-day overnights? Any help is appreciated.
Given the history and concerns you’ve outlined, requesting supervised visitation does seem reasonable. It’s important to prioritize your daughter’s safety.
You should definitely bring up your concerns during mediation. Document everything that’s happened to support your request.
If the court sees ongoing violations of the protection order, they may be more inclined to grant supervised visits. Make sure to express your concerns clearly.
I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Make sure you have all your documentation ready for mediation. It sounds like you’re advocating well for your daughter.