RICKY DEAN CHAFFIN, APPELLANT,
v.
DEBRA JOE GRIGSBY, ALSO KNOWN AS DEBRA JOE CHAFFIN, APPELLEE
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A Florida appellate court reversed a trial court's order conditioning a father's visitation rights on timely payment of child support, holding that visitation rights cannot be conditioned on financial compliance and must be protected independently.
No. The court held that the right to visit a minor child cannot be conditioned on timely payment of child support, and that the trial court erred in including such a condition in its visitation order.
[1] A parent's right to visitation with a minor child should not be denied or conditioned on timely payment of child support.
[2] A court may not condition a parent's visitation rights on the timely payment of future child support obligations.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The right of visiting a minor child of the parties to a divorce proceeding should never be denied either parent so long as he or she conducts himself or herself, while in the presence of such children, in a manner which will not adversely affect the morals or welfare of such progeny.”
Establishes the fundamental principle that visitation rights are protected and cannot be easily denied.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFollowing a divorce judgment in September 1972, the trial court awarded custody of the parties' minor child to the mother and reserved reasonable visi…
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CROSS, Judge.
Appellant-father, Ricky Dean Chaffin, seeks review of an order conditioning visitation privileges with a child.
On September 29, 1972, the circuit court entered a final judgment dissolving the marriage of appellant, Ricky Dean Chaf-fin, and appellee, Debra Joe Grigsby, a/k/a Debra Joe Chaffin. The final judgment awarded custody of the parties’ minor child, Ryan Heath Chaffin, to the appellee, reserving to the appellant the right of reasonable visitation. The appellant was ordered to pay child support.
A petition to define visitation was filed by the appellant. On December 19, 1973, after hearing, the circuit court entered an order which delineated the appellant’s visitation rights. The order also provided:
“Such provisions for visitation by the father shall be conditioned upon his being current hereafter in his payments for child support which may hereafter accrue unless otherwise relieved by order of the court from making such payments.”
It is from this order defining visitation that the appellant takes an interlocutory appeal.
The appellant contends that the circuit court erred in conditioning his right of visitation on timely payment of future child support as required by the terms of the final judgment. We agree.
The right of visiting a minor child of the parties to a divorce proceeding should never be denied either parent so long as he or she conducts himself or herself, while in the presence of such children, in a manner which will not adversely affect the morals or welfare of such progeny. This right may not be conditioned on the timely payment of child support. The circuit court has at its disposal a wide variety of methods to coerce compliance with the terms of the final decree of divorce. Howard v. Howard, 143 So. 2d 502 (Fla.App.1962).
In the instant case,. the above quoted provision conditions the appellant’s right to visit his minor daughter upon timely pay ment of future child support. This is improper. Therefore, the provision is stricken from the circuit court’s order defining visitation. In all other respects the order defining visitation is affirmed.
Affirmed, as modified.
WALDEN and MAGER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (12 total)
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Maggieruth (Boram) Johnston v. Forrest Ray Boram, 386 So. 2d 1230 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)…the mother. The noncustodial parent should be granted reasonable visitation with a child unless there is proof of extreme circumstances, or the trial court finds that the visitation will adversely affect the welfare of the child. Chaffin v. Grigsby, 293 So. 2d 404 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974). In this case either parent was a proper person to have custody. There was no evidence that visitation with the mother would adversely affect the welfare of the children. Therefore we affirm the award of custody but remand this m…
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Daewid Hechler v. Marita Hechler, 351 So. 2d 1122 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)…responsibility as lump sum alimony. As to the second point urged for reversal, it is true that a trial court may not condition visitation on the payment of support payments. Howard v. Howard, 143 So. 2d 502 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1962); Chaffin v. Grigsby, 293 So. 2d 404 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974). But, certainly in the best interest of the minor child, it can limit or prevent visitation. Cf. Scheer v. Scheer, 132 So. 2d 456 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1961); Cortina v. Cortina, 108 So. 2d 63 (Fla. 2d DCA 1958); Giacoio v. Giacoio, 286…
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Ronad McALISTER v. Shaver, 633 So. 2d 494 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994)…ld that: [t]he noncustodial parent should be granted reasonable visitation with a child unless there is proof of extreme circumstances, or the trial court finds that the visitation will adversely affect the welfare of the child. Chaffin v. Grigsby, 293 So. 2d 404 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974). Johnston at 1230. Having noted that Ronald had an inherent right as a parent to a meaningful relationship with his child through visitation and that a trial court has the obligation to consider the right of visitation in light…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Howard v. Howard, 143 So. 2d 502 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962)