It’s the summer before school, and your child is going to enroll in a new school in the fall. Perhaps they’re moving from middle school to high school, or maybe you relocated to a new city.
When you and your spouse were married, the two of you worked together to make these types of decisions. You jointly considered schools and determined what you thought was best for your child. But you’ve since gotten divorced. So, who gets to decide where your child is going to attend school in the upcoming year?
How did the court address legal custody rights?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer for this, as it depends on the specifics of each case. The parent who gets to decide where the child goes to school is the one who has legal custody rights. This covers their right to make a wide range of important decisions, such as choosing a child’s healthcare provider, authorizing medical treatments, choosing their religion and things of this nature.
If the court assigned joint legal custody rights to both you and your ex, then you still have to work together to choose the school for your child. Neither one of you can make this decision without the other person’s input, and it may be necessary to compromise.
On the other hand, it is possible that only one of you was given legal custody rights. If that is the case, then the parent with legal custody can make the decision on their own, even if the other parent disagrees with it.
Resolving a dispute
You can imagine how complicated these types of decisions can be and why they may lead to disputes. If you and your spouse find yourselves in this position, be sure you understand your legal options.