Legal Question in Family Law in Ohio

What laws prohibit infant overnight visitation, child being 5 mos.old?

I would appreciate any type of information regarding the laws governing infant overnight visitation, infant being 5 mos. old. The father tends to be violent at times and his sister has recently admitted to being sexully molested by him through childhood, but has denied this in front of the courts. I feel the child would be in danger. Is there anything to be done regarding this?


Asked on 4/13/98, 7:59 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Jonathan Schiff Self employed

overnight visits for infant

It's hard to answer not knowing more facts. The short answer is that you can always petition domestic relations (if this was a divorce) or juvenile court (if not married and this was a custody case) to review the visitation arrangements. But without proof of a threat (as in evidence that there has been violence perpetrated with the infant present that would present danger of physical harm to the baby) or evidence that could be presented to the court establishing a real possibility of his molesting the baby, the court is not likely to change the order.

You can, if you have evidence of ongoing abuse or neglect of the child call the children's services hotline in your area and they are required to investigate on a timetable dependent on the gravity of the situation. You can also bring such an action yourself in juvenile court. However, again, there has to be something provable to make the court act. Parents in custody cases always retain a legal right to visitation along with the obligation of support.

If there is some further question about this feel free to e-mail me. As you know there is no charge for this service and if I can't answer your question I might be able to help you find someone who can.

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Answered on 5/01/98, 5:22 pm


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