This year, custody has been tough. During the school year, you lost your job. Suddenly, you were rushing around trying to make ends meet and still needed to afford to care for your child.
You were fortunate and got a new job right away, but the new schedule conflicts with the custody schedule you had. Instead of starting work at 9:00 a.m. and getting home at 5:00 p.m., you’re having to leave at 6:00 in the morning and return an hour earlier than before.
The problem you’re having isn’t that you are getting home earlier. That has made things a little easier when your child comes home after school. The bigger issue is that you used to be able to take them to school in the morning. You now have to leave before their school day starts, but they’re not old enough to get themselves ready.
School days are shorter than work days, which makes this particularly difficult. Your ex-spouse may suggest having your child stay with them through the week if they start work later in the day, which may be helpful but could seriously affect your custody schedule.
If you have a change in circumstances, you should talk to one another about how to make your custody schedule work. If you currently have custody more often than your ex-spouse, you may want to seek additional child support to be able to pay for a few hours of day care in the morning or to have a neighbor help get your child to school on time. Depending on your circumstances, there could be many different solutions. Talk it out, and if you have a problem you can’t resolve, your attorney may be able to help.
