In an ideal world, parents would be able to work together for the good of the child, no matter the disagreements surrounding the family. However, if you and your ex-spouse have joint custody and an acrimonious relationship, you need to do everything you can to keep yourself safe.
A major key to successful joint parenting is safe custody swaps. According to Findlaw, you should choose a public location for the swap, and you can consider bringing somebody else along with you or have somebody else do the actual exchange.
Picking the right location
Choosing to do the custody swap in a public place will lower the risk of altercations. Plus, if there are other people around while the custody swap happens, they can help to dial down the overall tension.
Good places to consider are at your child’s school or daycare: these locations often have security and cameras on site. If you are particularly concerned, doing a custody swap in the parking lot of a police station is always a good choice.
Engaging in the exchange
It may benefit you to involve a neutral third party. Good choices for this may be co-workers that you carpool with or persons that work at your child’s school. Not only will this lower tension, but if something does go wrong you will have a witness.
You may also choose to have somebody else engage in the swap if you do not feel comfortable in the same physical place as your ex-spouse. You could choose a friend or family member for this role. However, if this is something you wish to pursue you will likely need to work this out prior, to the custody arrangements you make during the divorce process.
