Joshua Parfitt
A BRITISH expat has denounced Alicante’s family court over its suspension of shared custody agreements.
John Carey, who lives in Murla on Spain’s Costa Blanca, made the denuncia last Saturday after going nearly a month without seeing his children.
He said his basic ‘parental rights’ had been overruled by the Juzgados de Primera Instancia de Familia y Discapacidad de Alicante – one of very few provinces in all of Spain to suspend shared custody rights.
“There will be a lot of very angry single parents out there, so I’m challenging the court’s decision,” Carey told the Olive Press.
My kids are in Jesus Pobre [20km away] and I have court order for every two weekends plus one day – ie. Friday to Tuesday.
“My mum went to collect them today and was told the above. But I’ve got the kids on FaceTime begging to see me.”
A court ruling seen by the Olive Press states that due to the state of alarm the ‘visitation regimes for minors and the disabled’, and their circulation on public roads, is suspended.
An emergency meeting of provincial judges and advisers determined that shared custody posed a ‘clear risk’ to public health.
“The possibilities for minors and the disabled to get infected or infect others is multiplied,” the ruling reads.
It adds that parents won’t be punished for failing to meet the agreements, and that those with short visitation rights will be able to use their lost hours retrospectively.
Spain’s General Council of Judicial Power (CGPJ) in mid-March advised that each of 50 provincial judges should decide how they intepret the state of alarm decree concerning family rights.
These are the rulings of expat hotspots in Spain, according to El Español:
- Murcia has ruled separated parents are allowed to uphold custody agreements and use public roads to this end.
- Malaga has suspended all custody agreements and visitation rights.
- The Balearic Islands have ruled separated parents are allowed to uphold custody agreements and use public roads to this end – but inter-week visits are suspended.
