In the course of life, there are bound to arise family issues that result in divorce among parents. This can be a challenging time for the parents since many repercussions come along after the divorce. In many cases, a mother is given custody of the children and father permitted by the court to visit the children. In such cases, there are instances where the father doesn’t pay child support but wants visitation privileges. This is common in many states in the United States and has often been given less attention by the court system, with bias taking center stage. Unless a court has decided otherwise, every parent has the legal right to be part of their children’s lives. Below are the circumstances that surround the cases where fathers need to see their children and what the law dictates.
Child Custody
A court decided which parent should have custody of the children, and the non-custodial parent is required to pay child support. Most times, courts decide that both parents have equal rights to a child’s custody, and therefore, both parents have an opportunity to stay with their children in equal measure. In cases where the mother is the custodial parent, the father needs to pay child support. However, the fathers can fail to pay child support either by choice or forced by circumstances, and this cannot prevent the father from seeing his children. The courts consider child support and visitation privileges as two distinct legal cases which are handled separately. The father can, therefore, see his children even if he fails to pay child support as directed by a court of law.
Enforcement
If a father is not paying the required child support to the children’s mother as ordered by a court of law, the mother can decide to bring up an enforcement proceeding. The courts will receive a petition to force the father to pay child support to the custodial parent. However, this enforcement will not stop the father from seeing or visiting the children. The father’s uncooperativeness in paying child support does not limit him from the right to visit and spend time with his children. Therefore, a father can still see his children when the court against him is handling child support enforcement.
In conclusion, it comes as a relief for a “father who doesn’t pay child support but wants visitation” for the court permits visitation in such cases. The court treats child visitation and child support as two different cases that are handled separately. This means that a mother has no right to deny a father the rights to visit or spend time with their children, even if the father does not pay child support as instructed by a court of law. To answer the question in the main title: yes, the father has every right to visit his children even if he does not pay child support.
