COVID-19 Impact on Parenting Time, Child Support, and Divorce

Has coronavirus wrecked your parenting time strategy, your marriage, or your child support? Are you worried that this may happen? If the answer is yes, you aren’t alone. The three most typical family law questions we hear are:

• With stay at home orders in place, will the kids need to be exchanged for parenting time?
• Will I need to pay child support, even if I’ve been furloughed or lost my job?
• Am I able to get divorced while social distancing and stay at work/home safe orders are going on?

So, let’s get into it and answer your questions.

With stay at home orders in place, will the kids need to be exchanged for parenting time?

Stay-at-home orders don’t override parenting strategies, and kids still must be exchanged according to the present physical custody schedule. The majority of the time. Of course, life is seldom black and white. Tip: whether or not you believe your co-parent is washing their hands sufficiently isn’t a reason to refuse to exchange your children!

Will I need to pay child support, even if I’ve been furloughed or lost my job?

The plain answer is absolutely, child support still must be paid unless and until the court order is changed. It’s a court-ordered obligation, and one can’t simply stop paying child support – even if there are good reasons and extenuating circumstances.

Am I able to get divorced while social distancing and stay at work/home safe orders are going on?

We did not intend for the answer to be “it all depends,” however it all depends on how collaborative and cooperative you and your spouse may be. You can get a divorce, yet mediated divorces and cooperative divorces are the only kinds of divorce which may be finalized immediately.

Are you in need of collaborative family law advice in Los Angeles, CA? If the answer is yes, please feel free to get in touch with LACFLA right away at 818-933-4505.