MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Though most of the Montgomery County courts are on a reduced schedule during the coronavirus pandemic, that is not the case for the county’s domestic relations court.
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Custody and shared parenting concerns are keeping the two judges and seven magistrates of the domestic relations court busier than ever.
People with shared parenting or custody agreements are calling and even filing motions because they don’t believe their former partner’s home is a safe environment when it comes to COVID-19.
If the parents can’t work out any dispute themselves, they have to file for any adjustment to a court order, that means a hearing here, not something anyone really wants to have happen with all the state-ordered restrictions that come with gatherings, said Judge Timothy Wood.
If people end up filing for an adjustment to a court-ordered visitation schedule, the court will make the decision with the best interests of the children in mind so they’d rather the parents do it first.
“Do what’s best for the children, figure out how real the threat is,” Wood said.
“It’s sad to say some people will use this as an excuse to get even with someone, please don’t do that, your children already have enough stress as it is at this time, don’t do that, yeah just use practical common sense.”
News Center 7 is working to find out what kind of trouble you can be in if someone tries to unilaterally change a parenting agreement without permission from the partner or a temporary court order.
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