< Go Back What does Lockdown Mean for Families Who Are Separated? Lockdown can be a stressful situation for anyone, not to mention those children who depend on moving from house to house to visit their parents, let’s explore how lockdown can affect them.
It is important to note that separated families can use the argument of a ‘reasonable excuse’ to facilitate the movement of their children from households, this will be explored further below.
Keep reading to help put your mind at ease if your family is in this situation.
Can I Move My Child Between Households? It is important to understand that under current restrictions, people should stay at home to help minimise the risk of COVID-19 spreading. As many people as possible should follow this advice to help save lives as much as possible. However, it is important to understand that there are times where this may not be possible, such as when separated parents share custody of their children.
Family law in this scenario dictates that ‘where parents do not live in the same household, children under 18 can be moved between their parents’ homes’, actively allowing children to be moved between homes, and this should be done through a thorough assessment of both parties to demonstrate that it is necessary to do so.
What If My Child is in Care? For those who currently have children in care, Section 34 of the Children act of 1989 discusses how authorities must allow for the provision of contact between children and parents, but this can be limited if it is important to the child’s safety. The government still expects court orders to be upheld, and this needs to be followed to the largest extent possible. When meetings between parents and children in care occur, government guidelines must be still followed notably those on social distancing, and these rules should be followed to the largest extent possible. This way there is a balance between the safety of everyone involved from COVID-19 transmission but it also allows enough human interaction to take place to protect the mental health of those involved as well.
While this article provides more general advice on how to best follow the rules and also help your children, it is important to consider professional family law advice, as specialists in their field can give you further information on the law surrounding COVID-19 and separated families.
Therefore, the important takeaway from this is that you should continue to follow social distancing rules and guidelines as much as possible. However, under exceptional circumstances, such as those where you are unable to see your children, it is important to consider that there are exceptions to this rule to help maintain the mental health of those involved.
When meetings do occur, notably those when a parent visits a child in care, it is important to consider that social distancing guidelines should be followed to the largest extent possible, to help reduce the potential health problems that a COVID-19 infection can cause.
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