18 Mar Child Transportation and Related Child Visitation Issues
When it comes to making decisions about caring for your children with your co-parent, people can become confused about their responsibilities. One such obligation is that of figuring out which parent transports the child for visitation. Does the parent who had the child last drop him or her off at the other co-parent’s house? Will the parent who is about to have visitation pick up the child from their co-parent’s home? Is it a good idea to alternate transportation? Should there be a neutral ground where both parents go to simultaneously drop-off and pick up the child? Conflicts can ensue, and visitation can come to a halt if it is not decided and discussed beforehand what the procedure will be.
Fortunately for you, if a parenting plan was previously drafted, that document can be referenced as the voice of reason to solve any conflicts concerning transportation for visitation. Yet another reason it is valuable to have a childcare plan on-hand. Here are three important points to keep in mind when determining the procedure of transportation for child visitation.
Location
Figuring out who transports the children is not the only important detail to discuss. Decide if the children will be picked up at the home of their co-parent’s or a designated location like a park or the library. If it is hard for the co-parents to get along, pickups and drop-offs should occur at a neutral location like the police station or a church. Somewhere that conflict would be minimalized.
Punctuality
Being on time is key. Having respect for your co-parent is important in that you both have your lives going on outside of sharing a child. Both co-parents have obligations that the other may very well not be involved in. Even though they may no longer be together, co-parents still need to depend on each other to make sure they can accomplish the tasks they have going on in their lives. To prevent any conflicts with visitation, make sure any drop-offs and pickups go as smooth as possible.
Usage of a neutral party
Is it just utterly impossible for both co-parents to even see each other without an argument commencing? Pulling in a neutral party to act as a liaison and transport the children from point A to point B for visitation might be an option to consider. Think of a mutual friend, family member, or another party that each co-parent feels comfortable with enough to allow them to act as the link to keep visitation going. This party’s house can even be utilized as a neutral location for pickup and drop-off where both co-parents won’t need to see each other if they agree to do so at planned different times.