Parenting Time & Visitation Lawyer in Dayton, Ohio
A parenting time schedule only works if it actually holds up in real life. Anne Harvey has helped Dayton and Southwest Ohio parents establish, enforce, and modify parenting time arrangements for 30+ years, with an eye toward schedules that survive contact with an actual calendar.
Contacting Anne Harvey Law through this website does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Hire the Lawyer Who Actually Handles Your Case
A schedule that looks fine on paper can fall apart fast without the right guidance. Here is what it actually means to hire Anne for your parenting time matter:
You Work With Anne — Not a Rotating Team
Every call, every filing, every court date involves the same attorney: Anne herself. You will never have to re-explain your case to a new associate.
Straight Answers, Not Just What You Want to Hear
Anne tells clients the truth about where their case stands, including the parts that are hard to hear, so decisions get made with clear eyes.
30+ Years Focused on Ohio Family Law
Decades spent exclusively on divorce, custody, and support matters in Southwest Ohio courts, not a general practice that handles family law on the side.
Credentials You'd Expect From a Large Firm
OSBA Board Certified Specialist in Family Relations Law, and an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, its highest peer-review rating.
“She will not steer you wrong and will be honest with you. She never fed me any lies. In Anne you have it all — she delivers what she says she will, as long as you do your part too.”— Former Client, Anne Harvey Law
Every family law matter is different. Past client experiences do not predict or guarantee the outcome of your case.
On Parenting Time Disputes After Thirty-Plus Years
Of everything I handle, parenting time disputes are often the most emotionally loaded, and the most avoidable. I've seen two reasonable parents burn through thousands of dollars fighting over a schedule that, with a little more specificity up front, never would have ended up in a courtroom at all.
The pattern I've watched play out for thirty-plus years is this: a schedule gets written in vague terms because everyone assumes they'll just work it out. Then life gets complicated, and "we'll work it out" turns into missed exchanges, resentment, and a motion filed out of frustration. The fix usually isn't more conflict. It's a more specific schedule.
I've also learned not to assume I know what a family actually needs just because I've handled hundreds of these cases. A schedule that works for one family can be a disaster for another, depending on work schedules, distance, a kid's activities, or how well the parents actually communicate. My job is to listen to the specifics before I draft anything.
When parenting time is being violated, I know the difference between a one-time mix-up and a real pattern worth going back to court over. Not every missed exchange needs a motion. But when it's a pattern, clients deserve a lawyer who will actually do something about it, not just sympathize.
— Anne Harvey
How Parenting Time Works in Ohio
Ohio courts have the authority to establish a parenting time schedule for the parent who is not the primary residential parent, or to set out a detailed schedule as part of a shared parenting plan. Many Ohio counties, including those in Southwest Ohio, use a standard or model parenting time schedule as a starting point, which parents and courts can adjust to fit a family's needs.
A workable schedule typically addresses regular weekly time, holidays, school breaks, and how exchanges will happen, along with how last-minute changes or conflicts get resolved. The more specific the schedule, the less room there is for disagreement later.
When an existing schedule genuinely isn't working — because of a parent's changed schedule, a child's changing needs, or a pattern of violations — Ohio law allows for modification, though the standard for changing an existing order is different from setting one up for the first time.
What a Parenting Time Case May Involve
Parenting time issues can come up as part of a divorce or custody case, or on their own when an existing schedule stops working. Most matters involve some combination of the following.
Establishing a New Schedule
Building a regular weekly, holiday, and school-break schedule that reflects your family's actual routine.
Enforcing a Violated Order
Addressing a pattern of missed or denied parenting time through the appropriate legal process.
Modifying an Existing Schedule
Requesting a change when circumstances — work, distance, a child's needs — have genuinely shifted.
Long-Distance & Relocation Schedules
Adjusting a schedule when one parent lives, or wants to move, a significant distance away.
Common Parenting Time Questions
General answers to help you get oriented. These do not substitute for advice about your specific situation.
What is Ohio's standard parenting time schedule?
Many Ohio counties maintain a model or standard parenting time schedule that courts often use as a default starting point, covering regular weekly time, holidays, and school breaks. Courts can and do adjust it to fit individual family circumstances.
What can I do if the other parent won't follow the schedule?
Depending on the situation, options can include direct communication, mediation, or filing a motion asking the court to enforce the existing order. Anne can help you decide which approach fits a genuine pattern of violations.
Can parenting time be supervised?
In some circumstances, a court may order supervised parenting time, typically where there are specific safety or welfare concerns. Whether that applies depends heavily on the facts of the case.
Can a parenting time order be changed later?
Yes, when circumstances have genuinely changed since the last order and a modification would serve the child's best interest.
Does parenting time affect child support?
It can factor into the child support calculation in some cases. Anne can explain how your specific parenting time arrangement may relate to a support order.
Related Family Law Services
Serving Dayton and Southwest Ohio
Anne represents parenting time clients throughout Dayton, Ohio and the surrounding counties, including Montgomery County, Warren County, Greene County, Clark County, Miami County.
Build a Schedule That Actually Works
Whether you're setting up a new schedule or dealing with one that isn't being followed, talk to Anne about what a realistic, enforceable arrangement looks like for your family.
Please do not use the contact form to send highly sensitive or time-critical information. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.