With the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic upending lives across the country, divorced parents with minor children are facing particular difficulties. Schools are shutting down and “stay in place” orders are requiring parents to teach and watch their kids at home while also attempting to work remotely. This may be a good time to review your parenting plan and make adjustments to meet this unique time. At the Law Offices of David L. Hirschberg, our team of Boca Raton family attorneys can help you review your current parenting plan and suggest modifications that will make your and your family’s lives easier.
How COVID-19 is Impacting Custody
The coronavirus outbreak is impacting timesharing and parenting issues (child custody) in a couple of different ways. First, children are no longer at school during the day, which means that the parent with physical custody spends the entire day with their children instead of being at work and school. In addition, the need to self-quarantine if a parent or child has been exposed to someone else with COVID-19 or tests positive could also significantly impact the custody arrangement. Depending on when someone develops symptoms or is told of their exposure, it could mean that a child is spending between two and three weeks with one parent in quarantine in contradiction to your current parenting plan. Finally, in the event on parent is considered “essential personnel” and must go into work, with no schooling or day care options for the child, it may constrain the other parent to watch the child(ren) even though it is technically not that parent’s timesharing period.
Options for Your Parenting Plan
As a parent, you have options when reviewing your parenting plan during this difficult time. One option is to simply do nothing. If the current parenting plan is working despite the COVID-19 pandemic you can simply continue to abide by the parenting plan as it was written in your finalized divorce agreement. This option typically works best if both parents communicate well with each other and are flexible with things like the changes in schooling or the potential need to self-quarantine.
Another option for your parenting plan is to make some modifications while the outbreak is ongoing. If one parent cannot supervise the children’s schooling and work from home, changes could be made that one parent gets the children during the school day and the other parent takes the children at night. Changes can also be made for the potential need to self-quarantine, where the parent that is not with the child during that time gets the amount of time their child was in self-quarantine added to their schedule. There are many options available to you at this juncture, and an experienced family law attorney will be able to help you through the process.
Talk to Our Office Now
Families across the country are still adjusting to the new normal of the COVID-19 pandemic, and divorced spouses with children are facing some difficult problems. At the Law Offices of David L. Hirschberg in Boca Raton, our highly qualified legal team is here to help you understand your options while reviewing your parenting plan to find an arrangement that works best for everyone during this time. Call or contact our office today to schedule a consultation.
Resource:
natlawreview.com/article/parenting-time-considerations-during-covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-video
https://www.dhirschberglaw.com/how-cohabitation-affects-alimony/