Are you in the middle of negotiating a divorce settlement with your soon-to-be ex-spouse? If so, have you had children together? And, finally, is the COVID-19 pandemic causing many additional challenges to the relationship with both your children and your separated partner?
The global pandemic: The new now
Life as we know it will never be the same again. In fact, it cannot be the same. We cannot go back to living as we used to.
Why?
In summary, the world’s population is being ravaged by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. It was first noticed in China at the end of 2019. It is extremely virulent and spreads rapidly via person-to-person transmission. And, because of global travel, it spread from China through Europe, the United States of America, and it is now in Africa. It causes a respiratory infection in people and, while most experience mild symptoms and recover without hospitalization. There are a vast number of people who experience severe symptoms, needing medical care, and even manual ventilation. Most of these people do not make it.
The World Health Organization has stated, by watching China battle the effects of the virus, that one of the only ways to combat COVID-19’s spread is social distancing. Therefore, more than 50% of the world’s population is currently under a stay-at-home or lockdown order. The businessinsider.com noted on 7 April 2020 that 95% of the US population had been ordered to stay at home. These stay-at-home orders are still current.
Getting through the divorce process in a pandemic
Therefore, the question that begs is, how do you negotiate a divorce agreement, including custody and visitation arrangements for your minor children?
By way of answering this question, let’s consider the following points:
Hire an expert family law attorney
This is possibly one of the most critical points of this discussion. And, this doesn’t mean that you should hire an attorney that is going to behave like a bulldog with the unfortunate consequence that the divorce process ends up being similar to a Middle-Age jousting match where it’s a fight to the death.
It is preferable to hire a lawyer from the Kohlmeyer Hagen Law Office. They understand and appreciate the importance of untangling the marital union by finding solutions to every challenge faced by both parties, including co-parenting, custody, and visitation rights of both parents concerning the minor children.
Do not look for fights
The fact of the matter is that the children have the right to have a healthy relationship with both parents. And, acrimonious parents do not help the children, especially during the stress of the unknown facing most people.
As highlighted above, the biggest challenge of the COVID-19 virus is that there are so many unknowns. Additionally, some people are infected but are asymptomatic. This means that no one knows, including themselves, that they are carrying the virus and spreading it.
An unintended consequence of this virus’s behavior is that people are naturally suspicious and wary of other people. And this fact could exacerbate the breakdown in the relationship between the parents, resulting in fights when the children move between each parent’s home.
Thus, it is vital to remain neutral, rational, and to pick your battles. If you are concerned about something, it is essential to speak about it calmly without flaring up unnecessarily.
Comments are closed.