The strain of COVID-19 on Maryland households has caused waves of divorces, custody modifications, contempt hearings regarding visitation, and child support medication hearings.
It has been exhausting for families.
Trying to work – at home or elsewhere – while parenting and overseeing a virtual education for the children has brought many households to their knees.
Now we are seeing that education will begin remotely for most jurisdictions throughout the State of Maryland. How exactly will that work for families? Here are a few thoughts:
- Communication between parents has never been more important. Discussing how virtual education will work in each household, from the times of transitions to the requirement of extreme flexibility will be vital.
- Setting up a virtual school room in each house is a must. While teachers will tell parents and children how to finish off their school space, parents should strive to keep spaces as similar to each other as possible.
- School materials—one computer or two? Parents will need to determine if one set of supplies travels between houses or if a full set will be purchased for each house.
So, what happens when there is a disagreement between parents about virtual education? This is what will stress out your children!
If left unchecked, the stress can become overwhelming and can challenge the future of any marriage. It can also cause increased stress for parents living with their children in separate households.
There are no current statistics on what issues during COVID-19 have been causing divorces, but the stress on marriages is undeniable. In fact, so far, out of state visitations have been incredibly challenging to deal with, and many parents have not seen their children for six months or longer! That is absolutely untenable, even when phone calls and video conversations are possible.
The courts have been doing their best through this incredibly challenging situation, but cases are getting postponed by the thousands and may not be rescheduled until mid to late 2021 at this point. New court filings are faring no better.
The best advice for now is to start speaking with each other about sharing schooling responsibilities. A communication tool, like a texting conversation solely dedicated to school, could be the difference between surviving the virtual education during COVID-19 or a very ugly alternative.
Do you have questions for an experienced divorce attorney? Milstein Siegel can help. Call us at (410) 792-2300 or fill out the form on this page to request additional information.