While the internet and cellular communications make doing business in far-flung parts of the world easier than ever, the bottom line is that many people’s jobs require them to travel extensively. For some people, business trips are consistent. For others, travel planning may be highly unpredictable. This makes keeping a regular schedule challenging, and for divorced parents, work-related travel wreaks havoc on quality time with children.

Legal and physical custody: different concepts

In New Jersey, joint legal custody is very common, and means that both parents have input into major decisions affecting the kids’ health, education, and welfare. This could involve education decisions, religious practices, and elective surgery, to name a few. Yet, despite the nomenclature of “joint legal custody”, one parent often has primary “physical custody,” which means that parent has the kids the bulk of overnights per month, and the other parent has less parenting time with them, from a little less to a lot less. When business travel conflicts with parenting times, this can create serious problems.

Consent orders and contested cases

By the time of the actual divorce, most couples have sorted custody and parenting time arrangements without a trial. They use a Final Judgment of Custody to memorialize their plans. This can be accomplished by mutual consent of the parents, whether by back and forth negotiations or via mediation.

Mediation involves a neutral third party, whether court personnel or private, who facilitates the parties’ communications and records their preferences and decisions.

A parenting plan is critical to assuring that custody arrangements work well, and should lay out the schedule for each parent’s time with the children. The easiest way for a parent to modify the arrangement is by getting the other parent to accommodate a change.

When this is not possible, due to business travel or other circumstances, it may be necessary to go back to mediation, or even seek court relief by post-judgment motion to change the parenting time. If the parties cannot reach agreement, the trial court will, reluctantly, hold a hearing and resolve the matter on a contested basis upon entry of a court order.

Keeping an eye out for number one

In assessing such motions, the governing standard to which the New Jersey courts universally adhere is “the best interests of the child.” Among the factors the court considers are:

• The child’s safety;

• The child’s preference when the child is of sufficient age and capacity to form an intelligent decision;

• The child’s needs;

• The stability of the home environment; and

• The parents’ respective employment responsibilities.

While the other parent may not be pleased with an ex-spouse’s need to modify parenting time schedules, such feelings should be immaterial under the law. Circumstances that are beyond a parent’s control should not interfere with the needs of a child for both parents, and each parent’s needs to spend time with a child.

If a parent persistently refuses to cooperate with the other parent regarding these issues, there are reported cases in our jurisdiction that mandate a change of custody. It sounds like an extreme remedy, yet circumstances may justify its imposition on a case-by-case basis.

CONCLUSION

If you or someone you know has a crisis or concern about a child custody or parenting time matter, work-related or not and pre-trial or post-judgment, then they or you should  promptly contact a New Jersey Supreme Court Certified Family Law Specialist: someone who will answer your questions and direct you properly on the long and rock-filled path. Call or write to us. We will be glad to help you find your way home.