Whether to increase visitation time, decrease it, or alter it in any way rests with the Judge and his or her belief as to the children's best interest. Even rarer is the outright termination of visitation. If at all feasible, the court will generally try to maintain contact between the child and the non-custodial parent. Where the custodial parent and the children reside in a locale distant from the non-custodial parent, the parents must consider the additional cost of travel attendant any visitation. A custodial parent may be awarded a lesser amount of child support to help the non-custodial parent offset such travel expenses.
Most airlines offer escort services to help young travelers.
One airline I called, for example, would not permit children under 5 to travel alone. Children under 8 traveling alone with the escort service could not be booked on connecting flights, but only on direct flights. Kids 8 to twelve could be booked on connecting flights, but never on the last flight of the day so as to avoid a possible missed connection and the resulting overnight stay in a strange city. Parents should also consult the airlines or a travel agent. The law applies to divorce cases as well as to the situation where a parent dies regardless of whether a divorce has been initiated or finalized.