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Whether married or divorced, parents have an obligation to support their children financially. When the relationship between parents ends, Louisiana family courts often order one parent to pay child support. It is important to note that the financial obligation that a parent has to the children is separate from the desire to be part of their lives.

In some cases, the Louisiana parent responsible for making court-ordered child support payments fails to uphold his or her obligation. Even so, that parent cannot be denied the right to see the children as long as doing so would not cause them harm. The fact of the matter is that child support payments are not made in order to spend time with the children. Instead they are made to help support their financial needs.

This surprises many people. Nonpayment of child support is not enough to convince a court to refuse visitation rights. The primary custodial parent would need to show a compelling reason that it is not in the best interests of the children to see the other parent. Otherwise, the fostering of the relationship between the other parent and the children will continue.

If a parent does not receive the child support payments ordered by the court, there is a procedure to seek enforcement or modification of that order. If there are real concerns about the other parent’s visitation rights, they must also be handled as a separate matter. In either case, it would probably be a good idea to involve an attorney in these pursuits.

Source: thespruce.com, “Child Support, Visitation & Parental Rights,” Debrina Washington, accessed Dec. 17, 2017