Supervised Visitation in BC

It always seemed to surprise me why spouses who lived together for many years in a relationship with children would turn against each other so much after separation that one or both would accuse one another of being so harmful to their children that one or both should have supervised visitation. Most times I thought these requests were out of nothing but vengeance, and sometimes they are, but I have found that there are sometimes very legitimate reasons for such requests. For our latest case in which we took our client from having supervised visitation to having full custody because of the wife’s false allegations, click here.

What is Supervised Visitation in BC?

Supervised visitation in BC means that your parenting time with the child will have to be supervised by either a professional agency or person or a family member. This means that on a temporary basis, someone will need to watch you and the child, and how you interact with them. This usually happens in situations where the other parent alleges that the child is not safe around you and in private. Let’s see why and how this happens:

Supervised Visitation on an Interim or Temporary Basis

Supervised visitation is often ordered at very early stages of custody litigation. From the time couples separate until they have a chance to comprehensively show their case at trial, they may have to wait several months or years. Until the trial, they are permitted to set down interim or temporary Applications at the Supreme Court (or Notices of Motion at the Provincial Court) for a temporary parenting schedule pending trial.

At the Application, evidence is often only heard through affidavits. So the judge does not have a chance to observe the parents on the stand and determine who is lying and who is not. This puts the judge in a very difficult position in having to determine who is right and who is wrong. If one party is making extreme allegations against the other, out of an abundance of caution, the judge may order supervised visitation pending trial. This can have a harmful and damaging effect on the children if such allegations prove to be false at trial. For example, the mother alleges that the father molested the children in an attempt to get full custody. The father denies the allegation but the judge doesn’t have any concrete evidence that his denial is true. So just to be safe, he/she may order supervised visitation. If at the time of trial it turns out the father never molested the children, those children will have lost several months or years of proper bonding time with their father, and the father will have endured extreme amounts of psychological stress and trauma as a result of the false allegations. It is truly tragic. And of course, an extremely expensive process to go through to clear his name.

The court system is not there to create justice all the time – that is impossible. That is why many criminals are on the street and innocent people are in jail. You can only hope that the judge sees you eye to eye and believes your story but there is no guarantee another human being (the judge) is immune to mistakes.

So if you find yourself in a situation where for no reason you find yourself having your parenting time supervised, focus your efforts on moving your case ahead and proving your spouse wrong at trial. There is no point in blaming anyone or looking back. If it turns out that your spouse lied, custody may be reversed and granted to you. To see an example of this on a case we did, click here.

When is Supervised Visitation Ordered in BC?

In very extreme and rare circumstances. These include:

1. Alcohol abuse and harming children because of it.
2. Drug abuse and harming the children because of it.
3. Physical abuse of children or spouse.
4. Sexual abuse of children or the spouse.
5. Alienation of children by one spouse.
6. One spouse puts the children through extreme psychological harm.
7. Extreme family violence.

What Happens when Supervised Visitation is Ordered?

You will have to find a supervisor to supervise your time with the children. In some cases, the supervision will have to be professional. This means you will have to find a professional supervision agency to help you with your parenting time. This can be a very expensive process. Usually, for 2 hours of supervised access, charges are around $100 to $150. The supervisor often writes a report about how the visitation went. If the report is good/bad, it can be used for trial as evidence of how the parent interacted with the child. The following agencies in Vancouver provided supervised visitation services:

• Access Supervision
• Supervised Access Program
• West Coast Family Services
• Change Makers
• Family Focus Institute
• And finally, a directory for all individuals who offer supervised visitation in all areas of BC.

In another case, the judge may order one of your family members or trusted friends to be a supervisor. This is less expensive but it needs that person to commit his/her time to help you. No matter what you do, do not breach court orders and make sure the supervisor is present during your visitation.

What Should You Do when Supervised Visitation is Ordered?

1. Exercise your visitation – even if it ends up being expensive. You need to show the judge you are an involved and dedicated parent.
2. Be good to your children during visitation – the supervisor’s reports are very important for trial.
3. Immediately set up a trial date as soon as possible – the longer supervised visitation goes, the more expensive and painful it gets. Get your case in front of a judge immediately.
4. Consult with a lawyer to see if you can change supervised visitation even before trial.
5. Stay positive. Keep focused.

YLaw focused on custody and parenting time with the children. We win almost all of our custody cases. To set up a consultation, please call us at 604-974-9529 or email [email protected].