Visitation Rights

Child Visitation Attorney in Northern Kentucky

Courtroom-Ready Advocacy & Collaborative Solutions for Parenting Time

Visitation rights determine how a non-custodial parent stays meaningfully connected to their child after a separation or divorce. Getting those terms right from the start matters. At Schaffner Family Law & Mediation, we represent parents across Kenton, Campbell, and Boone counties in both contested and cooperative visitation matters, from negotiating a practical parenting time schedule to litigating one before a family court judge.

Founding attorney Tasha K. Schaffner has practiced family law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky since 2004. Known in the Northern Kentucky legal community as “Tiger Tasha,” she brings real tenacity to protecting parental rights, and our all-female boutique team brings that same commitment to every client we serve.

If parenting time is being withheld, disputed, or needs to be established, we’re ready to help. Call us at (859) 577-7552 or reach out through our contact form to schedule a consultation.

What We Bring to Visitation Cases

Visitation matters can move through negotiation or through the courtroom, and we don’t approach them the same way. Our attorneys are formally trained in Collaborative Law and are members of the Academy of Northern Kentucky Collaborative Professionals (ANKCP). We’re also certified by the state of Kentucky to conduct private domestic relations mediations, which means we can help parents reach a workable parenting plan without contested litigation when that path is available.

When a case requires a fight, we show up ready for one. Our firm has an extensive track record in the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the Kentucky Supreme Court, including cases that have set legal precedents in family law. Tasha holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and is consistently recognized in Super Lawyers for Family Law, a distinction given to no more than 5% of attorneys in the state.

We limit our caseload deliberately. Every parenting plan, motion, and agreement gets careful individual attention from our team, which includes attorneys Jennifer Conner and Amy Halbrook alongside Tasha. Virtual consultations are available for parents throughout Northern Kentucky, and we stay active in the Northern Kentucky Bar Association and the Kentucky Bar Association to remain current on the courts and the people in them.

Visitation Situations We Handle

Parenting time disputes take many forms. Some of the situations we work through with clients include:

Establishing initial parenting time: Unmarried parents and divorcing spouses who need a parenting schedule put in place for the first time
Expanding or restricting access: Non-custodial parents seeking more time, or custodial parents with documented safety concerns about the other parent’s access
Drafting parenting plans: Detailed schedules built to function in real life and reduce future disputes, not just satisfy the court’s minimum requirements
Visitation enforcement: Representation when an existing court order isn’t being followed
Cross-county and interstate coordination: Parenting time arrangements that work across county lines or state borders

When domestic violence has been alleged, Kentucky courts must hold a hearing before determining any visitation arrangement. That process can result in supervised visitation or other restrictions, and having prepared legal representation at that stage matters.

Start With a Conversation

Parenting time questions don’t always resolve themselves, and waiting rarely makes them easier. Whether you need to establish a schedule, enforce an existing order, or sort out a situation that’s become unworkable, we’re here to give you honest answers and a clear picture of your options.

We offer consultations by phone and virtual meeting, serving parents throughout Kenton, Campbell, and Boone counties and the broader Greater Cincinnati area.

Reach our Northern Kentucky visitation attorneys at (859) 577-7552 or contact us online to get started.

How Kentucky Law Governs Visitation Rights

Under KRS 403.320, a parent who is not granted custody is entitled to reasonable visitation rights unless a court finds, after a hearing, that visitation would seriously endanger the child’s physical, mental, moral, or emotional health. That’s a high bar, and it reflects Kentucky’s policy preference for keeping both parents involved in a child’s life.

Kentucky family courts begin with a rebuttable presumption under KRS 403.270 that joint custody and equally shared parenting time serve the child’s best interests. Either parent can overcome that presumption with a preponderance of the evidence, but the starting point favors involvement from both sides. Courts weigh factors including the child’s adjustment to home, school, and community; the relationship between the child and each parent; the mental and physical health of everyone involved; and any finding of domestic violence. A child old enough to express a mature, reasoned preference may also have that preference considered.

When domestic violence or abuse has been alleged under KRS 403.720, the court must hold a hearing before setting any visitation terms. That hearing can produce supervised visitation requirements, restricted access, or other conditions on parenting time.

Specific Parenting Time Orders

At either party’s request, Kentucky courts are required to issue orders that are specific as to frequency, timing, duration, conditions, and how the schedule is carried out. A vague “reasonable visitation” arrangement often becomes a source of conflict. Courts must also account for the developmental age of the child when setting schedule terms, which means the right structure for a toddler looks different from the right structure for a teenager.

Modifying a Parenting Time Order in Northern Kentucky

Life changes, and parenting schedules sometimes need to change with it. Under KRS 403.320(3), a parent can seek modification of a visitation or parenting time order whenever modification would serve the best interests of the child. That standard is more flexible than the threshold required to modify a custody designation itself, which makes parenting time modifications somewhat more accessible.

Common reasons parents return to family court include a parent’s relocation, a shift in the child’s school schedule or extracurricular commitments, a significant change in a parent’s work hours, or documented concerns about the child’s safety during the other parent’s parenting time. Courts won’t restrict visitation on a modification motion unless the evidence shows that continuing the current arrangement would seriously endanger the child.

We handle post-decree visitation modification matters in Kenton, Campbell, and Boone County family courts. When both parties are willing, our state mediation certification means we can help reach a modified schedule through private mediation rather than contested litigation. When a dispute escalates beyond the trial court, our appellate track record means we can follow it there. More detail on the modification process is available on our Modifications page.

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