Michigan law gives fathers the right to reasonable parenting time — and equal parenting time when it serves the child's best interests. The law is on your side. The question is whether you use it.
Parenting time is the legal term Michigan uses for what most people call visitation. But the term matters — because Michigan law frames parenting time as a right of the child to have access to both parents, not merely a privilege the other parent can grant or withhold.
MCL 722.27a states that parenting time shall be granted in accordance with the best interests of the child. It further states that it is presumed to be in the best interests of a child to have a strong relationship with both parents.
This presumption matters. It means the court starts from the position that your involvement is good for your child — the other parent has to produce evidence to overcome that presumption, not you.
Reasonable parenting time. Open-ended — allows the parents to work out a schedule. Only appropriate when there is genuine cooperation. Falls apart quickly in high-conflict situations.
Specific parenting time. A detailed court-ordered schedule specifying exact days, times, holidays, school breaks, and exchange protocols. This is what fathers in contested cases need — vague orders leave too much room for interference.
Supervised parenting time. Required only when there is documented risk to the child in unsupervised contact. Courts do not order supervision without specific factual basis. False allegations are sometimes used to obtain supervision orders — these must be challenged immediately.
Michigan parenting time schedules typically address:
Holiday schedules typically alternate — you have certain holidays in even years, the other parent in odd years, then it flips. Getting a specific, detailed holiday schedule in the court order prevents conflict and gives you legal standing to enforce it.
Michigan law provides that both parents — regardless of custody arrangement — are entitled to access their child's school records, medical records, and information about the child's activities. A parent cannot legally withhold this information from the other parent. If you are being excluded from school communications, medical decisions, or activity schedules, that exclusion is addressable in court.
A court can restrict parenting time — reduce, supervise, or temporarily suspend it — only when there is documented risk to the child's physical, mental, or emotional health. Restrictions without that documented basis can be challenged. If your parenting time has been restricted by an emergency order based on allegations you believe are false, contact Haque Legal immediately.
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