If you are worried about health or safety

If you are worried about your safety or your child’s safety you can ask the court for a

• Parenting Time Order,
• Visitation Order,
• Supervised Parenting Time Order, or
• Supervised Visitation Order.

Ongoing cases

• If you are in an ongoing case like Divorce, Paternity, Separate Support, or Custody-Support-Parenting Time and you want your child to be safe with the other parent, file a Motion, a Proposed Order, and Affidavit in Support of the Motion. See Rosa’s story.
• If you are in an ongoing case like Divorce, Paternity, Separate Support, or Custody-Support-Parenting Time and you also have to deal with domestic violence, file
  • a Motion, a Proposed Order, and Affidavit in Support of the Motion. See Julie’s story. Or
  • a 209A Complaint for Protection from Abuse in the Probate and Family Court. See Martha’s story.
• If you have been served with a summons and complaint, you need to file an answer. In your answer you can say you need supervised parenting time or visitation. See Jill’s story.

No ongoing case

There is no ongoing case if the court has already made a final judgment in a case between you and the other parent or there is no case in court right now between you and the other parent.

If

• you are not in an ongoing case with the other parent,
• there is no visitation or parenting time order, and
• you need a Parenting Time Order, Supervised Parenting Time Order, or Supervised Visitation Order

file

• a complaint and
• an Affidavit Disclosing Care or Custody Proceeding.

Usually complaints take a long time to get through the court system. Motions do not take as long. So in addition to filing a complaint, also file

• a Motion for Parenting Time together with
• a Proposed Order.

See

• Kate’s story.
• Learn how to fill in the Affidavit Disclosing Care or Custody Proceeding.
• What can I do if I need a court order right away?.
• Asking for Parenting Time or Visitation in a Motion

If you need a restraining order, you can ask for supervised visitation in your 209A complaint. See Lisa’s story.

Important

If you have been served with a summons and complaint, you need to file an Answer. In your Answer you can say you need supervised parenting time or visitation.

See

• Jill’s story
• Answering a Complaint in Probate & Family Court