A New Year Means It’s Time to Review Your Child Custody Schedule

2020 has most certainly been a year full of challenges. It is important to take all the necessary steps to enter into 2021 prepared and focused on a successful new year. In a time with so many changes happening, it is important to conduct proper maintenance on not just your estate planning and your financial goals; but also, your child custody schedule. Being prepared allows you to face less of a headache in the new year. 

What changes might happen?

While we’d all like a year with just the status quo there’s a lot of unknowns in starting a new year with the global pandemic still in full force. Unfortunately for a lot of companies, the longer this crisis continues the less likely they will be to keep their current workforce. It’s important to understand any potential job losses or schedule changes that you or your ex-spouse may face in 2021.

What to review in 2021?

• Your custody and visitation schedule. Things like your living arrangements and your weekly schedules are important things to review in the new year. Provisioning for any holidays, vacations, school breaks, and special occasions are important things to reconsider on a yearly basis.

• Parenting provisions. Issues like decision-making authority, dispute resolution, transportation agreements, and communication are important issues to discuss yearly to ensure that your child’s needs are met and their best interest is kept front of mind.

•  Child support information. In a year like 2020, it’s very possible that one of the parties involved may have lost their job and their income has been adversely affected. While this information should be submitted to the courts, it’s important to be honest and transparent with your co-parent.

When it comes to child custody, it’s easy for agreements to get complicated. It’s important to remember that an attorney can assist in following the correct procedures for any changes you may need to your original agreement.