I am currently incarcerated. Can I get visitation ordered with my child?

Yes, you have the right to request visitations while you are incarcerated. However, we recommend trying to come to an informal agreement with the child’s caregiver for visits to your facility. Filing a lawsuit is a timely and costly process that can cause confrontation in your family. If you have an informal visiting schedule then you are more likely to have an amicable relationship with the child’s guardian. Once you have a successful visit or two, you can ask the caregiver for a reasonable schedule for visits.[2382]

IMPORTANT! Be sure to put your agreement in writing—It can be a simple letter from you stating what you have agreed. Keep a copy. Then keep written records of how your arrangement is working out over time.

!

If you cannot agree on an informal visitation plan with your child’s caregiver, then you can request visitation through court. If that is your situation, you can follow the steps for starting or joining a case in any of the three family-related courts (see PG 742 or how to start or join a case).

Grandparents, because they do not have any automatic right to visitation, cannot ask the court for visitation with their grandchild while they are incarcerated, but may be able to set up an informal agreement with the child’s parent or caregiver to come visit them.

  1. 2382

    Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, “Child Custody and Visitation Rights for Incarcerated Parents” (2012). ↑