Withholding Visitation Due to Illness: Is It Allowed?

Getting sick is an unfortunate part of life. It is never welcome, never convenient, and doesn’t care how it disrupts everyone’s day to day. Depending on the severity of the illness, you might have to call out of work, keep your child home from school, and put a pause on the daily routines until things are back to normal.

When you split custody or have a visitation schedule with your child, how does illness affect it? Whether it is you or your child who is sick – is withholding visitation due to illness a viable option? What steps should you take to make sure that legally, you’re abiding by any court order agreement but not putting anyone’s health at greater risk?

The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. Here is what you should know when it comes to the timing of an ailment coinciding with any co-parenting obligations.

If your child is sick

Similarly to when custody agreements were settled in court, there are many factors to consider if your child is sick. These include:

• Nature and severity of the illness
• Parenting schedule
• How the illness could affect the parenting schedule
• How plausible it is to shift the parenting schedule

First – how sick is your child? Kids tend to get sick regularly. Do they have a common cold? Or is it something more severe? For something minor, the visitation schedule likely won’t change. For something more serious, check with their doctor and contact your co-parent, and find out what is best for them. You both might decide to delay or shift around visitation. Moving your child around while they are sick might not be in their best interest, especially if they are vomiting or running a high fever.

Second – what is the parenting schedule and how is this illness interrupting it? If you are the primary custodial parent and your child has a 24-hour stomach bug, you may easily be able to shift the visitation a day once they are no longer throwing up. However, if the illness seems like it’ll last longer – the flu for example – then that could lead to a week without the co-parent seeing their child. In that case, you’ll want to still adhere to visitation, as a week without seeing a parent is much more significant.

Finally – how plausible is it to shift the schedule? Would moving or shifting visitation means there is a significant amount of time without seeing the co-parent? If there is little flexibility, you’ll want to work with your co-parent and within the confines of the illness to adhere to visitation, all while being mindful of how the illness is running its course. If your co-parent is also difficult to work with, then that is something else to keep in mind in whether or not you negotiate a shift.

At the end of the day, parenting involves sickness and health. As a result, your child being sick does not automatically mean that visits will get canceled. Consult your child’s pediatrician and keep an open line of communication with your co-parent to figure out what is best for your child’s health. If travel is not suggested, figure out a way to make up for that lost time once your kid is better.

If you are sick

If you are sick, your child and their health is once again the biggest consideration. You’ll still need to make sure your child is cared for while sick, but you may want to postpone your visit if you are seriously ill. There are two reasons behind this:

• You don’t want to get your kid sick
• If you have a severe illness, you don’t want to be bedridden during a visitation, especially if there is no one else to aid in caretaking in the home

Similarly, if your child is sick, consult your doctor to figure out the best way to navigate this situation, especially if you have a chronic illness.

Conclusion

Sickness is guaranteed to get everyone at one point or another. In a split custody situation, working with your doctors and your co-parent to do what is best with your kid is always the main goal. In working as a team, you’ll ensure that your child’s health and safety remain paramount, and make it through any sick season.