Separated parents during Coronavirus: let’s share the childcare
Working From Home means more time shared with the children
Our family law team has seen an increase in recent weeks in requests for separated families to adopt an equal sharing of child care arrangements.
The COVID19 pandemic has been a crisis that has altered the way we live and work. It has seen a move from office to home-based working which means there’s a new ‘flexibility’ and willingness for separated parents to be able to take on equal childcare responsibilities and spend more time with their children.
The last 6 months has proven that many working roles do not need to be office-based and remote working seems to be the future for a large number of businesses.
A positive of this new way of life is that as parents are now able to be more flexible with their work commitments, this allows them the flexibility to spend more time with their children. It also means an increased amount of time for the child to spend with both parents, causing ‘shared care’ to more literally mean ‘equal care’; something that wasn’t possible for many working parents pre-pandemic.
Who knows what the future holds however COVID19 is likely to be around for the foreseeable future. It has however shown that many roles do not need to be office-based as the pandemic has altered the way we live and work and the move from office to home-based working means children can spend time with both parents much more easilly than before.
Working From Home - equal share of childcare?
With the change of lifestyles and working styles, it’s no surprise that we’ve seen an uplift in requests from parents wanting to change their existing arrangements, as well as the majority of new agreements being approached in a more equal manner.
“Putting the needs and wishes of the children first when divorcing or separating provides a solid foundation for most agreements and this shift is good news for both children and parents alike."
“Many couples that have reached an agreement may now be prompted to revisit their current child arrangements to reflect their new ways of working. Active and equal involvement from both parents where possible is suggested for the benefit of the children, and we encourage separated couples to reflect on what arrangement is best for their children, in light of the new circumstances we are all living in. Now is the time to seize the opportunity to make positive changes.”
Making or reviewing existing child arrangements
Child arrangements between divorced or separated couples is not set in stone. As situations and lives change, you can revisit the agreement you’ve made together and suggest and make changes to child arrangements, creating a new agreement.
We’re here to help
If you’d like advice or support with reviewing and making changes to existing child arrangements please contact a member of our family law team.
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Emma Piff, Family Solicitor, Lawson-West Solicitors
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