Disclosure: collaborative post
The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to rethink how we manage many aspects of our lives. From education and travel to socialising and shopping, these are all things that have been turned upside down since late March.
For separated couples going through a divorce, the issue of childcare and child contact arrangements has become even more difficult to navigate. Some parents are rightly concerned that trips back and forth between the two separate family homes would be considered non-essential travel. They are also concerned about the issue of their children not following the stay at home guidelines by moving between two homes.
Alongside the Stay At Home guidance issued by the Government, the position of shared custody arrangements was also addressed by the Courts and Tribunal Judiciary. The overall message is that the safety of the children lies with the parents, not with the courts.
And while Stay At Home and social distancing practices should be observed, children can still travel between their parents’ homes if it is safe to do so. The advice states: “Where parents do not live in the same household, children under 18 can be moved between their parents’ homes.”
If you already have a contact order in place
The coronavirus outbreak should not prevent you from continuing with the child contact order already in place. However, you can expect there will need to be some adjustments made. These changes won’t be permanent, and any concessions made will not set a precedent for future arrangements.
Public Health England recently issued guidance on how to manage during this time: “Where Coronavirus restrictions cause the letter of a court order to be varied, the spirit of the order should nevertheless be delivered by making safe alternative arrangements for the child.” Above all else, the wellbeing of the child should come first. While you may have to make some concessions during this difficult time, remember that these arrangements won’t last forever.
If you are contesting a child contact order
If you have yet to agree on an arrangement for child custody, you cannot use the pandemic as an excuse to stop your child having contact with the other parent. Unless the child is sick or showing symptoms of COVID-19, then you should continue to allow the other parent to have contact with the child.
If it would be impractical or unsafe to allow the child to move between the two homes, then provisions should be made to allow children to call the other parent using a video calling service such as Skype or Whatsapp. It will be down to the parents to decide how to arrange this. If this is unavailable, then children should be able to call their parents as a last resort.
If you are being denied access
An already strained relationship with your ex might be pushed to the edge by the stress of the pandemic. If you are being denied any access as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, you can request support from a remote meditator. This is a new service providing phone support to separated couples to help them come to an arrangement.
If you are looking for support in your divorce and are worried about the coronavirus delaying the proceedings, you should speak to your family solicitor. For specialist divorce solicitors head over to WiseLaw.
If you have yet to file a petition for divorce, you should be aware that there could be delays once the courts reopen. At the moment, the family courts are still open as this is deemed to be an essential service, but there are staff shortages. Once the lockdown is over, some family solicitors are also anticipating a spike in enquiries.
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