Legal and Practical Guide to Remote Work for Divorced Parents in New Jersey

The Increasing Prevalence of Remote Work and Far-Reaching Effects on Divorced Parents and NJ Custody Arrangements

Legal and Practical Guide to Remote Work for Divorced Parents in New JerseyGetting out the door on time to make it to work is a huge challenge when you must wake, dress, feed, and transport your children to school or daycare first, especially when you have no help. Being a divorced parent with kids makes a job commute an added stress and a waste of precious time. Fortunately, remote work has become more popular in the last five to ten years, allowing parents the luxury of time and location. Saving time lost to commuting and being close to children’s schools and after-school activities are extremely beneficial to divorced parents in New Jersey. With the continued predominance of parents working remotely, this relatively recent phenomenon has become an influential part of divorce and custody cases, raising questions, presenting unique considerations, and morphing the parenting time schedules and options of many divorcing couples.

Time Management and Cost Benefits of Remote Work for Divorced Parents in NJ

When you can work from home, you have a certain amount of flexibility to arrange your work around your other daily obligations, such as driving kids to and from school, medical, dental, school, and other appointments, and transporting children to or from the other parent’s residence for their parenting time. Remote work also reduces stress by adding time to your life. The hours you spend commuting to work are better spent attending to your children’s needs, getting them off to school, picking them up after school, and transporting them to after-school activities.

Eliminating the commute and on-site workday can improve a divorced parent’s mental health and well-being by reducing the morning and evening rush from and to home, getting dinner ready, and helping kids with homework. Without the press for time and with the security of knowing you are close to home in case of emergencies, you may feel more at ease and under less pressure. Sitting at work while your child is at home sick or injured at school can add intense stress, as you feel helpless and worried, distracted from work and stressed about your job.

Being home also allows you to be more involved in your children’s lives, being a larger part of their day. When you are home with your children, you can talk to them and be present for their needs, including conversations, advice, and entertainment. Economic stress is also lessened when you do not have to find, trust, and pay for childcare. The savings on gas, wear and tear on your vehicle, and work attire are other cost benefits of remote work. You might save on car insurance since your annual mileage may be less.

Finally, remote work options allow a divorced parent to relocate close to family support. Since physical location does not tie you to a residence near work, you can live in another state, close to family who can help with childrearing duties and lend emotional support.

Potential Influence of Remote Work on Custody for Divorced Parents

Remote work is especially helpful for co-parenting. You and your ex may share custody of your children, but your ex works an eight-hour or more day at their corporate job on-site. Since you work remotely, you can be more flexible at picking up and dropping off kids between households, from social and other events, and appointments. So, when your ex needs to schedule a school meeting on their day off, you can be there to accommodate their schedule. That flexibility makes co-parenting easier.

When both parents work remotely, the children can access both parents more, allowing for better communication and flexibility in sharing parenting time. However, not all remote work is unstructured and free. One remote worker’s job may be to be at their computer at specific hours to be available for meetings, calls, and email questions. Each remote job has its degree of flexibility and restriction. Therefore, including the details of your remote work, availability, flexibility, and restrictions in a child custody agreement is essential.

How can Working Remotely Affect Child Support in New Jersey?

Your switch to remote work from on-site work may have reduced or increased your income, affecting your child support. Calculating child support includes both parents’ income and certain expenses. So, when remote work decreases your income, you may pay less child support or receive more, depending on who receives child support. Moreover, reduced work hours, lost benefits, or other effects of remote work may change child support. For example, remote work for self-employed people may mean out-of-pocket costs for health insurance, but it also may mean tax deductions for a home office. Many factors may influence fluctuating income and expenses, which could affect child support amounts.

Can Relocating as a Remote Worker Impact my NJ Custody Arrangement?

While one parent may want to relocate to be closer to family and their support system after divorce, they may not be able to do so unless they obtain the other parent’s consent or a court order. Unless the other parent consents, you must get the court’s approval after considering your situation, the other parent’s situation, and most importantly, the best interests of the child or children.

The primary assumption underlying child custody law is that it is in children’s best interests to have a relationship and time with both parents. Barring issues or behaviors that endanger children, both parents should have access to regular and ongoing custodial time. When moving affects the other parent’s custodial time, courts may be hesitant to approve such a move.

However, many factors come into play, such as the reasons for moving, the children’s relationship with both parents, their preferences, and whether they can maintain their relationship with the other parent. For example, a parent may move for a better job, to pursue education, to be near family, or for other reasons. A court must weigh all factors necessitating the move against the children’s ability to spend time with the other parent.

Establishing Clear Remote Work Boundaries for Effective Co-Parenting

Though convenient, working from home can be challenging with children. The tendency for work and home life to become enmeshed is high, which may create confusion and less efficiency for both work and childrearing. Thus, it is important to have a separate, organized room or office space distinct from the rest of the house where only work activities occur.

Additionally, you must establish boundaries around work separate from family time. So, communicating clearly and consistently what your work hours are, when you can be interrupted, when you cannot, and whether children can enter your workspace is essential. Boundaries avoid confusion about when your children get your attention and time for family matters.

Influence of Parents Working Remotely on Custody and Child Support in NJLikewise, your co-parent needs to understand when you work. Clearly communicating your work schedule helps the other parent know what is required of them. For example, your ex may need to pick up kids from grandma’s or a childcare facility because of your work schedule and obligations. Clear communication allows each parent to pick up the slack according to the children’s needs.

Apps are available to coordinate work schedules and facilitate communication, allowing parents to organize co-parenting duties. For example, having an interactive calendar that both parents can use to input important dates for consideration, like work trips, appointments, school conferences, vacations, and schedule changes, helps each parent know what to do.

Talk to a Lawyer who can Help You Maximize Remote Work Benefits in Your New Jersey Custody Agreement

As a divorced parent working remotely in New Jersey, you may need help negotiating your custody agreement to accommodate your work. When creating a parenting plan, our experienced family law attorneys at Montanari Law Group can work to convince the other parent and their attorney to understand your individual work conditions, obligations, and needs. You want to enjoy the flexibility of your job to be with your kids more but also establish that you still need childcare to do your job and may not always be available to drive kids over to the other parent’s house. Moreover, income may be sporadic and irregular when you work for yourself. With that in mind, we may need to advocate for income averaging to arrive at child support, considering self-employment taxes and other considerations specific to remote work.

Our child custody lawyers can also be invaluable when you plan to relocate. While your remote work allows you to relocate, courts do not readily enable moves without compelling reasons. Having dealt with relocation requests when one or both parents are working remotely, we understand the degree of evidence necessary to give a judge a reason to approve your move. Our team can also create visitation schedules that work for both parties, even at long distances so that the children can continue their relationships with both parents in real and virtual time.

When you sit down with a family lawyer at our office, you can discuss how your remote work affects your custody and child support and find out how we can assist you with reaching your particular goals and objectives. We serve clients with child custody matters in Millburn, Livingston, Clifton, Totowa, Caldwell, Montclair, Short Hills, Paramus, New Milford, Franklin Lakes, Wanaque, Little Falls, Hoboken, and throughout Northern New Jersey Contact us at (973) 233-4396 today for advice and further guidance in a free consultation.

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