Meeting your co-parent halfway for custody exchanges

If you and your co-parent are living some distance apart, whether 20 miles or hundreds of miles, neither of you may want to make that drive when you trade off custody of the kids. Fortunately, there’s an app for that. Actually, there are multiple sites to help people find locations that are halfway between two places. A popular one for co-parents is Meetways.

The site and app don’t just list rest stops or gas stations along the interstate that are at your halfway point. You can find restaurants, coffee shops, shopping centers, amusement parks, hotels and more. This can make your exchanges much more pleasant for everyone involved — most importantly, for your children.

Parents can suggest and share proposed meet-up destinations and directions by email and other electronic methods with a minimum of personalized contact if that’s what they prefer. They may find a spot that they decide to use regularly or switch up their meeting points for a little variety. If parents get along well enough, the whole family may have a meal together or go shopping for new clothes or shoes before they go their separate ways.

Meetways lists a variety of spots that are approximately halfway between two points. You may choose one that’s a little closer to your co-parent for one trip and one that’s a bit closer to you for the next.

When co-parents are able to work together to minimize the stress and inconvenience of driving long distances to make their custody and visitation exchanges, they can help ensure that neither one feels overburdened. This can improve their relationship.

You may even want to include language about meeting halfway in your parenting plan if you’re still working that out or the next time you make a modification. Your attorney can help you do that.