It can be difficult to move children between two separate households. Still, if you have a shared custody arrangement, you and your ex-spouse may have to tackle custody transfers two or three times every single week. Luckily, these transfers are likely to become old hat eventually.
Until everyone in your family acclimates to custody transfers, you should expect them to be somewhat awkward. According to Psychology Today, minimizing conflict during custody transfers helps to keep children emotionally and psychologically healthy. Picking the right custody transfer location is the first step.
1. Neutrality
Regardless of how your marriage ended, you may not be quite ready to see your former spouse in his or her post-divorce world. Consequently, rather than swapping custody at your home or your ex-spouse’s house, you may want to do so in a neutral place.
2. Safety
You probably have a limitless number of neutral locations to conduct your custody transfers. To narrow your list, you should cross off any locations that are unsafe. Remember, a site that is safe most of the year may become unsafe at other times, so you may want to choose a backup location for your custody transfers.
3. Convenience
Neither you nor your ex-spouse should bear all the burden of reaching the transfer location. Therefore, it is usually advisable to opt for a transfer site that is fair to both you and your ex. Finding a place that is approximately equidistant between your two homes or places of employment may make sense.
Ultimately, if you and your ex-spouse can agree on optimal custody transfer locations, you are likely to start your co-parenting journey on the right foot.
