Time-Sharing During The Coronavirus Outbreak

Written by: Cathleen Winter, Esq.

As public safety concerns rise during the coronavirus outbreak, many parents are not only concerned with their health, but also the health and safety of their children AND how to exercise their time-sharing schedules. If you are a parent with an ongoing family law case or you’re actively using your parenting plan after divorce and have concerns, please read further for some suggestions we have for you and your family.

Child Exchanges

If you and your ex have a Parenting Plan, whether temporary or permanent, which specifies a child exchange location that you no longer feel is safe or appropriate amid the coronavirus outbreak, you should contact your ex to coordinate a safer location. For example, if you previously agreed to have child exchanges at a restaurant but feel that further social distancing is required, you and your ex could discuss having child exchanges take place at an empty parking lot (if domestic violence is not a concern) or at an uncrowded park.

What If My Ex Is Quarantined?

If your ex was exercising time-sharing with your children during his or her time-sharing schedule, tested positive for coronavirus, and is now quarantined with your children, this does not necessarily mean that you lose time with your children. You may want to consider makeup time-sharing with your spouse for lost time during your time-sharing schedule.

What If I Want To Self-Quarantine?

If you are a concerned parent and want to self-quarantine as a precaution, discuss this option with your ex and discuss/coordinate makeup time-sharing to assist with your decision to self-quarantine.

What If My Ex Has Travel Plans?

If your ex has travel plans with your children and you do not feel this is appropriate, encourage your ex to follow government agency recommendations, travel advisories and restrictions.

You can obtain the latest health information regarding coronavirus from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html and can obtain the latest coronavirus travel information from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/index.html.

Additionally, please visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/ for the U.S. Department of State’s travel advisories and visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/about-our-new-products/staying-connected.html to obtain updated travel advisories and alerts. We encourage you to share this information with your ex to help protect the safety of your children.

If you feel that you need further assistance regarding family law during our current outbreak, please reach out to us asap at 407-757-2883.