The year 2020 isn’t one of the most pleasant years we’ve had. The lockdown, the fear of the virus, the market crash, job loss, the list is endless. And for people who are going through a difficult phase in their relationship, it’s all the more stressful. Living with your partner during the lockdown is difficult if your relationship is already under strain. It gets all the more challenging to handle if you have already parted ways and share child custody with your partner.
Co-parenting is tough any day, and the challenges are endless if its at a time of crisis like now. Here’s how you can handle joint custody of your child during the lockdown.
Coparenting at the Time of the Lockdown
When you have separated from your partner but share the custody of your child, the law expects you to drop off your little one in the care of your partner. However, the lockdown makes it impossible for you to commute while also increasing the risk of virus spread. But if you refuse to let your partner have access to your child, that will be a violation of the law.
This is one of the major concerns among parents today and has kept the phones ringing at the attorney’s offices across the world. The COVID-19 crisis is unlike any other that the law covers. Hence, the onus is upon the parents to identify a middle ground and embrace an approach to parenting that’s best for the child.
Seek Professional Help
Consult your attorneys and marriage counseling experts for advice on how you could take this forward. If need be, set up online counseling sessions that the two of you could attend during the period of lockdown. This might take away some amount of stress from the sudden change in the dynamics of your relationship.
Find a middle ground.
While it is not going to be easy to adjust with your former spouse, there is not much you could do at this point. So, try to work out a middle ground, including on things like where all of you would stay, the responsibilities, etc.
Talking to your partner and sharing your concerns will be a great start to dealing with this crisis. You might also want to work on the new relationship terms and agreements with your ex.
Work on Your Relationship
A broken marriage might make it uncomfortable for the two of you to co-live. However, you can work out the relationship and make it less awkward. Try to work out the differences and see if it is possible to heal the wounds of your relationship. Now that you do not have a work routine that keeps you away from home, you will be able to spend more time together.
Use this to your best advantage and build communication. Even if the relationship doesn’t work out in the end, you will always have a more harmonious relationship with your former spouse. And that’s something which will benefit your child.
Revise the Custody Agreement
If your relationship did not end on harmonious terms or if it is traumatic for you even to consider living with your partner, you can always revisit the custody agreement. The law places the safety and well-being of the child and all the members involved over the custody agreement.
So, consider getting a temporary change made to the custody agreement by talking to your attorney. The last thing the law wants is people getting back into abusive relationships just to avoid violating the judgment. After all, being witness to an abusive relationship isn’t in the best interest of your child’s well-being too.
The change in the child custody agreement could also work in the case of parents who live in different geographies. As they cannot travel during the lockdown, the law might permit you to make temporary changes to the custody agreement.
End of the day, it is the physical and mental well-being of all the parties involved that’s paramount. So, we hope this helped deal with all your questions about your child’s custody during the pandemic. If you have further questions or experiencing challenges beyond what the article covers, we would advise you to get in touch with your attorney.