One of the most difficult aspects the family interrelation regime of a divorce or a de facto or judicial separation is usually the definition of the relationship with minor children, because when the parents decide to go through a separation, undoubtedly those who suffer the immediate consequences are, mainly, the minor children.

On many occasions, the father or mother who does not have custody of the children sees how the interrelation with the minors is abruptly affected, since they cannot share with them regularly, as they did before the separation.

Like all aspects of Family Law, the ideal would be for the parents to reach an agreement between them, so that he or she who does not have custody of the minors can interact with them on a regular basis, so that the maternal or paternal bond is not adversely affected. It is important to emphasize that a family relationship is not only for the father or mother to relate with the minors, this term also includes the family nucleus of the person who does not have custody, so that minors do not lose affective ties with uncles, grandparents, cousins and other close relatives.

In case a voluntary agreement between the parents is not reached, there is a process called family interrelation regime (better known as a visiting schedule process), which is filed in the respective Family Court, usually by the party that does not have custody. The process begins with a formal lawsuit, which must be authenticated by an attorney.
It is extremely important that in this initial lawsuit, the party requests a provisional interrelation regime, this will force the Judge, based on the initial evidence, to issue a provisional regime, which will allow the affected party to share with his/her children, while the process is resolved, since like all judicial process, it takes its time and is not immediately resolved, so this request is necessary so that the father or mother does not lose that necessary contact with their minor children.

Initially, the Judge will call the parties to a conciliation hearing, to try an alternative resolution to the conflict and that this process ends in that initial hearing. If there is an agreement, the Judge will approve it and that agreement will have the character of a final ruling, so that agreement will be the final interrelation regime, always having the parties the possibility of modifying it by mutual agreement; or in the absence of an agreement between the parties, request the Court to modify it, having to carry out the initial stages again.

If in that conciliation hearing the parties do not reach an agreement, the Judge must schedule a new hearing, in this case to receive all the evidence offered by the parties (witnesses, confessional, documentary, and any other). Once all the evidence has been collected, the Judge must issue a final ruling where he will elaborate a family interrelation regime according to what the parties managed to prove. This judgment will have an appeal in the event that one or both parties are not satisfied with it and this appeal will be resolved by the Superior Judge.

In case of requiring assistance in this type of process or in any other within Family Law, ERP Lawyers puts at your disposal a specialized team in the matter, who will be able to advise you in the best way; do not hesitate to contact us.