Many divorcees follow the Texas standard possession order that says the custodial parent, whom the child lives with, and the noncustodial parent, will alternate years to keep their children on spring break. This year, many noncustodial parents had possession of their children over spring break, and their orders directing them to return the child the evening before school resumes.
The novel coronavirus hit Texas at spring break, leading many school districts to announce weekslong school closures by saying they were “extending spring break.”
“There’s quite a bit of stress and almost panic,” said Holly Rampy Baird, partner in Orsinger Nelson Downing Anderson in Dallas. “This is more uncertainty on top of the most uncertain situation our nation, and society, has faced in a long time.”
“Many noncustodial parents who had spring break this year looked at their order and said, ‘It means I get two weeks,’ ” Baird said.
Panic ensued among the custodial parents who wanted their children returned as if the school closures did not happened. Also, because courts across the state have said they are only handling essential cases and postponing hearings and trials in nonessential cases, these parents didn’t know if courts would agree to hear their disputes about who keeps the kids, Baird said.
The Texas Supreme Court settled the issue Tuesday in its second emergency order of the pandemic, ruling that the originally published school schedule will control.
Read the entire article, As COVID-19 Disrupts Spring Break, Texas Supreme Court Resolves a Key Custody Dispute, on Texas Lawyer.
The post Holly Rampy Baird Talks to <em>Texas Lawyer</em> About COVID-19’s Impact on Divorced Parents During Spring Break appeared first on ONDA Family Law.
Source: Family Law - ondafamilylaw.com
