Many details about family circumstances influence household dynamics. In many modern families, both parents work. However, one parent might have a much more demanding career than the other. Executives, surgeons and other professionals may need to work long shifts with irregular schedules. They may need to perform overtime with little advance notice or travel frequently.
Those professional responsibilities might lead to an uneven allocation of parental responsibilities within a marriage. The other spouse may spend more for more time with the children so the parent with the demanding career can focus on optimizing their success and therefore the household’s income.
When professionals in stressful careers face divorce, they may worry about whether they can seek shared custody of their children. Do the courts deny parents time with their children because of their career obligations?
Parents can work around scheduling challenges
Divorcing parents can typically reach custody arrangements that work well for the family regardless of the unusual demands that there may be on the parent’s time. There are many different parenting schedules that can work for families in various situations.
For example, a parent with a demanding career could have a childcare professional available to support them if they have to stay late for overtime or travel with little advance notice. They could also include provisions in the parenting plan that allow them to reschedule or arrange for makeup parenting time if they have to miss a weekend with their children because of work responsibilities.
Parents can potentially agree to any terms that allow both of them to have a reasonable amount of time with their children. If they cannot reach an amicable arrangement on their own, the courts can assist them.
A judge hearing a litigated custody case is not likely to deprive a parent of access to their children because of their career commitments. Instead, they may include provisions in the custody order that allow the parents to share parenting time and legal authority. Even those who work third-shift jobs or travel internationally for work can still be active parents with a reasonable amount of parenting time.
Parents generally do not have to choose between their children and their careers when they divorce. Learning more about custody laws and different solutions for shared custody can help parents as their situation evolves.
