Every parent should be able to spend meaningful time with their child. However, in cases where the court believes the child could be in danger if left alone with either their mother or father, the court will decide to impose supervised visitation. This can be done in cases where there is concern over the child’s emotional development or physical condition if left alone with their other parent.
Of course, in cases where one parent truly is dangerous, supervised visitation is very important to the well-being of the child. However, keep in mind that there are also cases where one parent may lie in order to paint the other in a bad light. In some cases, this could even lead to unnecessary supervised visitation time.
Actor Edward Furlong is claiming this is what is happening to him. His ex-wife claims he exposed his 6-year-old son to cocaine. The actor adamantly denies this claim.
However, the judge had reason to believe the child could be put in harm’s way by being alone with his father and ordered for visitation to be supervised. Before this judgment, Furlong was hopeful he’d be able to regain full custody.
Furlong did seek to overturn the supervised visitation ruling on Friday, but the judge refused to change it. This means that going forward — at least for the time being — he will not be able to spend time with his son alone.
Cases like this are always hard on fathers, especially when the result is supervised visitation. However, in these types of cases, or any type of child custody or visitation case, fathers should seek out legal representation in order to have a full understanding of what their options are and what possible next steps may be taken.
Source: SFGate.com, “Edward Furlong loses child custody bid,” Dec. 17, 2012
