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How does child visitation work in Virginia

Visitation is a right of the non-custodial parent or other individual to have contact with the child. Because it is limited by the custodial parent's legal custody of the child, visitation rights are lesser than rights of custody. While the right of visitation is most frequently granted to parents of the child, the Virginia Code does not limit visitation to parents. Instead, the Virginia Code states that visitation may be granted to any person with a legitimate interest, and includes in that definition grandparents, stepparents, former stepparents, blood relatives, and other family members.

In most cases, despite even the most extreme circumstances, a court will not completely deny visitation rights to a parent; instead, it will usually allow at least supervised visitation. Additionally, although a court has the power to deny visitation, the court will normally only stop visitation for a certain time or until a certain task is performed. For example, Virginia courts have previously stayed visitation until the parent met their financial obligations to the child.