The Real-Life Effects the Coronavirus Is Having on Children in Custody Battles and How Their Parents Should Respond, According to a Family Lawyer
As parents, we want to do everything we can to protect our children from pain, unhappiness, bad experiences, and from rejection, hurt feelings, and disappointments. Now there is something new that we must protect them from: The risk of getting sick or infecting others with the coronavirus while their parents are in divorce litigation, fighting over their custody, visitation, and access rights.
Seven million residents of the Bay Area in California have been ordered to “shelter in place.” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is warning New Yorkers to prepare for such an order as well. News reports advise to stay at home if possible, but many parents are facing an added complication. During a divorce and certainly afterwards, children commonly shuttle back and forth between each parent’s household based on court-ordered visitation or parenting schedule. What happens if one or more parent or their household becomes infected with the coronavirus? What happens when a parent or a household member lives in a community with an outbreak or has been exposed to an infected person but shows no signs of being infected?
To read the full article, please click here.
“The Real-Life Effects the Coronavirus Is Having on Children in Custody Battles and How Their Parents Should Respond, According to a Family Lawyer,” by Marilyn B. Chinitz was published in Business Insider on March 24, 2020.