Navigating Child Custody During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Not long after the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) arrived in the United States,
the president declared a national emergency. Since mid-March, states across
the country have systematically shut down schools, movie theatres, entertainment
venues, gyms, salons, and other “non-essential” businesses.
Children are learning online, and parents are expected to homeschool their
children. With all of these sweeping changes, virtually every aspect of
our personal and professional lives have been impacted and family matters
are no exception.
Child Custody Interrupted
As COVID-19 quickly disrupted Americans’ lives, parents were faced
with many uncertainties in regard to childcare, online learning, and child
custody. While some families have been managing child custody without
any problems, others have been less fortunate. If parents can be accommodating
and work with each other through this pandemic, that is ideal. But for
those who don’t see eye-to-eye on who should get the children during
the quarantine, an already stressful co-parenting situation is only worsened
by family court closures. In the absence of
domestic violence, most families will have to wait until the courts re-open to address their
child custody orders. However, your attorney can make an application to
the court for a court Skype conference to resolve visitation disputes
When Child Custody is an Issue During COVID-19
Many of our clients are navigating child custody during the pandemic in
a healthy and positive manner, but that is not the case for every family.
Some parents are taking advantage of the situation and refusing to let
the other parent see their child during their court-ordered parenting
time. Then, some parents are simply concerned about their child’s
health and well-being. They’re worried the other parent isn’t
practicing social distancing or good hygiene, so they feel it’s
in their child’s best interests for them to stay away from the other
parent until conditions improve.
If you have questions or concerns about child custody as a result of the
pandemic, we invite you to
contact our firm to obtain sound legal advice about your particular situation.