Q: I have a question about court ordered visitation after the issue of Stay At Home order.
My husband and I are 68 and 69 years old. My husband has an autoimmune disease that affects his lungs...Wegeners Granulamatosis. He also has partial paralysis due to a stroke. Our son and 4 year old grandson live with us full time. Our son has sole custody of our grandson, legal and physical. Our grandson’s mom, who lives 90 minutes away from us in Newaygo, has court ordered visitation every other weekend. My question is, does the Stay At Home order issued by the governor effect visitation? If we send our grandson to his scheduled visitation this weekend, we risk him being infected and then passing on the virus to my husband. It would kill him, for sure. We have been self quarantined for the past 10 days. The mom lives with her boyfriend (still going to work), their 8 month old baby, her sister (who works in health care with the elderly), and her 5 year old niece....lots of exposure to others. Do we risk our lives because of a court order?
A: Family law attorneys' phones are ringing off the hook with just this sort of question. The latest order expressly provides that people may travel to facility court ordered visitations. And in fact unless ordered otherwise, existing parenting time orders remain valid and enforceable. Understandably there are real health concerns. Courts are only hearing emergency matters now, and it is unclear whether this particular situation rises to that level. One remedy that a judge may think of here is if this concern exists with you guys, maybe Mom should just keep your grandson until this is over - that would eliminate the risk of you guys being affected. You - or rather, your son - would need to be prepared for that possibility. What is clear is that unless a judge makes a new order, your son must comply with the current order.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
