I have seen more sun in the last few weeks than I’ve seen
for about five months, which is a reminder that summer is coming faster than we
think. In the family law world, this
also means that plenty of parents are gearing up for their often extended summer
parenting time.
Naturally, there is a statute in Michigan that provides the
court with factors to look at “when determining the frequency, duration, and
type of parenting time to be granted.”
MCL 722.27a(6)(a-i). The first
five factors will be examined in this article and the next four in May.
The first factor is “[t]he existence of any special
circumstances or needs of the child.”
This can apply when your child has a physical or mental disability which
requires frequent therapy, hospitalizations, doctor appointments, etc. that
would make it difficult for parents to have equal parenting time or parenting
time during the week. Most parents are
fortunate enough not to have this factor apply, but it certainly does come into
play when your child has special needs.
“Whether the child is a nursing child less than 6 months of
age, or less than 1 year of age if the child receives substantial nutrition
through nursing,” is the second factor.
This one really irritates my male clientele when their children are
babies because many believe that their ex should be required to pump her breast
milk and give it to the father to use during parenting time. Often the father’s belief is that if this
were required, and he was provided with all of the milk the baby needed,
nothing would prevent him from having equal parenting time with the
infant. However, the courts will still
consider the fact that only mom can provide this type of nutrition and
therefore the child has to be physically present in her care more often than
dad’s.
The third factor is “[t]he reasonable likelihood of abuse or
neglect of the child during parenting time.”
Clearly if there is a realistic chance that the child will be harmed
while in the care of a parent, parenting time needs to be limited, supervised
or all together suspended. Past
instances and evidence of abuse, including photos, police reports, valid
protective services claims and the like are often used to show that this factor
is relevant to a particular case.
Factor four ties into three – “[t]he reasonable likelihood
of abuse of a parent resulting from the exercise of parenting time.” If there was domestic violence in the
parents’ relationship, and they are frequently swapping the kids for parenting
time, it stands to reason that increasing contact with each other in turn
increases the possibility that domestic violence could erupt during the
exchanges.
Traveling for parenting time is also a significant
consideration, especially with more parents having to move away to find better
or any employment. Specifically, the
statute states: “The inconvenience to,
and burdensome impact or effect on, the child of traveling for purposes of
parenting time.” If the parents live a
significant distance apart, whether in the same state (think about the UP in
Michigan), or in different states, putting junior on a plane or through a 4
hour car ride one-way isn’t always going to be feasible.
In these cases, it makes more sense to offer the parent
longer periods of parenting time so that junior is not constantly trapped in
the car, missing out on sleep and school events. Instead, the child can spend more time in one
place, but less frequently, to cut back on issues with travel.
Most people agree that parenting time should change as the
kids age and change, and the above five factors are only some of the statutory
factors the court may consider – keep a look out for the last 4 in May!
