IN THE PROFESSION says , “ I am changed , I am not traveling anymore , I am here to stay and oversee my own schedule so I can be here for the kids .” What is the Court to do in that situation ? Look at the historical data or look at the past two years ?
The same question arose for education – we now have to consider which parent would be better equipped to “ homeschool ” the children in the event of a school shutdown . We also have to write into our parenting plans who is responsible for the children during the day should the school not be open or the child needs to be home school or quarantined . What if a parent wants to choose to home school the children for medical reasons ? For example , because of the pandemic and concerns of the child getting sick – is that a medical decision or an educational decision ?
In Georgia , there are four areas in which there is decision-making authority : ( 1 ) non-emergency healthcare ; ( 2 ) education ; ( 3 ) extracurricular activities ; and ( 4 ) religion . What if Mother has education authority and Father has healthcare authority and one wants the children to be in school and the other doesn ’ t because of COVID-19 – who makes the decision ? Is it a non-emergency healthcare decision or an educational decision ? There is no law or direction from the Court about how to handle one parent who is following strict social distancing and one who is not – which parent is correct ? Can a contempt be brought against a parent for this ? What if the child gets sick and misses school ? What if the child gets sick , which causes a parent to get sick and the other parent then must miss work ? There are so many “ what-if ” scenarios – many of which we have not encountered or contemplated yet – and that challenge is we have nothing to compare to or base upon .
BROOKE M . FRENCH Kaye , Lembeck , Hitt & French bfrench @ klhffamilylaw . com
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As a result of the pandemic , who is the decision-maker for medical decisions for the children has become a big issue for clients in contested custody cases . Many parents are not on the same page regarding when or if their children should be vaccinated , and the proper protocol for quarantining due to potential exposure issues . Accordingly , clients are fighting over the non-emergency healthcare tie-breaker far more than they used to in the past , which has required either court intervention or getting recommendations from a GAL to move cases forward on these issues on temporary and permanent bases .
JOHN H . KILLEEN Bodker , Ramsey , Andrews , Winograd & Wildstein PC jkilleen @ brawwlaw . com
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Issues we never imagined have become commonplace in custody cases during the pandemic . Which parent is more capable of handling virtual schooling , does parenting time stop if a family member is exposed or tests positive for COVID-19 , how will decisions around vaccines be handled , and masking or not at school or activities are just a few of the issues that crop up . Overwhelmingly , we have seen skyrocketing mental health issues with children related to anxiety , depression , and , in some cases , suicidality . During the pandemic , I feel the area I have helped parents the most is educating them on the additional stressors on children and convincing parents to back off a bit on the intense focus on grades and screen time . Everyone needs to give each other a bit of grace and realize the rules that applied pre-pandemic are not always applicable or in a child ’ s best interest right now .
When I tell a fellow lawyer that I am a family lawyer , they inevitably groan and say something to the effect of “ better you than me .” It is important for a custody lawyer to be patient and to be able to recognize a child staying connected with both parents is better for the child ’ s long-term outcomes . Most importantly , a custody lawyer should be able to compassionately set reasonable expectations with parents and , when
Issues we never imagined have become commonplace in custody cases during the pandemic .
necessary , to provide robust reality checks . I I handle high conflict custody cases as a litigator , guardian ad litem and as mediator / arbitrator . I rely on other seasoned custody lawyers and seasoned mental health professionals as my sounding boards . I also stay current with the research on children , families , and conflict . It is my experience that guardians ad litem are most helpful in cases involving allegations of substance abuse , mental health issues , special need of children and abuse .
A child-centered heart and a passion for children makes a difference in helping parties or the court craft a custody determination and parenting plan that helps the family transition out of litigation .
( continued on page 21 )
DAWN R . SMITH Smith & Files LLC dsmith @ smithfileslaw . com
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www . atlantabar . org THE ATLANTA LAWYER 19