When it comes to your custody agreement after divorce, consistency is key. However, amidst the Coronavirus outbreak, you might be forced to make a few adjustments or educated decisions about how to best split your time— if you split it at all. It might be difficult to make the call, especially if it means an extended period of time away from your child. But an unprecedented illness calls for unprecedented changes to your daily life. So, what steps do you need to make as a parent to protect your children?
Coronavirus & Custody: Unprecedented Adjustments
Flexibility is key
As we dive deeper into this pandemic, it’s important that we all hunker down and keep to our respective spaces. We want to avoid gathering in groups, seeing new people, and going out into public as much as possible. Especially if you are living with older people, pregnant, or have children— Coronavirus is nothing to play with. This is where custody agreements begin to get muddy. The biggest adjustment you might need to make is in that shuffle back and forth. Normally, your children might spend four days with you and three days with their other parent. However, now is the time to collaborate.
Evaluating Risk
While you want to see your children, and rightfully so, now might be a great time to evaluate each of your daily lives and adjust as needed. Maybe one of you is a nurse or doctor— meaning that you are exposed to Coronavirus daily. While you do not show symptoms, you very well might be carrying it in some capacity. However, your ex-husband has the ability to work remotely. In this case, you might need to make the tough call that your child will spend quarantine with the parent who can work remotely.
Estranged Parents
While these choices might seem like an obvious transition for many of you, it can be hard to collaborate when you and your former spouse are bitter towards one another. Therefore, you might find yourself seeking the assistance of an attorney to work out new terms. However, as we mentioned previously, an illness such as Coronavirus calls for unprecedented changes. We urge you to save the money and find a way to collaborate on this issue. It is a potentially a life or death decision and we encourage putting your differences aside. Of course, if this is something that you cannot accomplish— we are available for phone or video consultations at this time.
