Serving Clients Across Texas

Who Should Be Present During Exchanges of the Children

When going through a divorce in Dallas, Texas, exchanging the children for possession times between parents can be a stressful situation. When children are enrolled in school, many parents choose to exchange the children at the beginning or ending of the school day. The exchange at school limits or eliminates the parents’ interaction with each other. This can be a wise choice during a divorce in Texas when parents may not necessarily be getting along.

When a child is younger than school age, it makes exchanges of the young child more challenging in that it requires parent interaction at the time of the exchanges. Recently in the news, Halle Berry, her boyfriend, actor Olivier Martinez, and the father of Ms. Berry’s daughter, model Gabriel Aubry, were involved in an altercation during the exchange of the child. Both Olivier Martinez and Gabriel Aubry allege that the other committed assault. Mr. Aubry was arrested at the time of the exchange of the child. Mr. Aubry has also obtained a restraining order against Mr. Martinez. How this will all play out in the media and the legal system is yet to be seen.

It is wise when exchanging children to not have significant others, family members or any person the other parent could interpret as an adversary present at the time of the exchange. The presence of additional people during an exchange regardless of the intent can heighten emotions and create possible situations that can have lasting negative repercussions for you as well as your child.

Categories