{"id":3490,"date":"2018-03-27T09:31:22","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T16:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/arizona-family-law\/?page_id=3490"},"modified":"2023-10-25T20:11:02","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T03:11:02","slug":"joint-custody-and-school-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/arizona-family-law\/blog\/joint-custody-and-school-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Joint Custody and School Decisions in Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"
A quality education is one of the most important things that your child can receive. It is often why some parents are willing to pay for their child to go to private school, so they can be sure that their child is receiving the kind of education that will help them become successful as they get older and provide them with better opportunities.<\/p>\n
While most parents would agree that a quality education is essential, what constitutes the best education for a child is an entirely different issue. This can become blurred when the parents are divorced and one parent disagrees with the other on what would be the right choice for their child\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
If you and your family need help mediating school decisions, give us a call at (480) 467-4348<\/a> or fill out a form online<\/a>.<\/p>\n In most divorce settlements<\/a>, decisions about education are mutually agreed upon. In the vast majority of cases, the children were already in school at the time when the couple filed for divorce, so making a decision on where the children would go to school was virtually irrelevant.<\/p>\n There are also instances where one parent has primary custody, and is the one that has sole authority to determine the educational direction of the children. In this case, whichever parent has that right is able to choose where the children will go to school.<\/p>\n However, there are those instances where both parents have a say in the decision-making process<\/a>, and are not able to find common ground on decisions. This frequently happens when the divorce occurred during the time where the children were in elementary school, but now that they have reached high school age the decisions are a bit more complicated.<\/p>\n This can also happen when the parent who has the children for the majority of the time moves, and a new school is needed to be chosen. Neither parent may know much about the school district that the children will now be living in, so making an informed decision can be a challenging one, to say the least.<\/p>\n One of the myths commonly associated with these kinds of cases is that the parent who is the primary custodian of the children believes that he or she can make the decision arbitrarily. Since the children are with them most of the time, they do not need to consult the other parent before making a decision. However, that is not the case at all.<\/p>\n Unless one parent has full custody of the children<\/a>, an agreement must be reached between both parents in order for a decision about the education of the children to be made. This makes great sense when you think about it. The education of the children is one of the most important decisions, so courts have found it necessary for both parents to be involved in this decision-making process.<\/p>\n What makes this matter even more complicated is when the primary custodial parent expects the other parent to pay for the child\u2019s education. This isn’t always a problem, if the amount of child support<\/a> the other parent is paying can cover the cost of education then nothing has changed. However, if the cost of attending a specific school (such as a private school or charter school) exceeds the court ordered amount then both parents need to find a way to cover the difference.<\/p>\nJoint Custody and School Decisions Become More Difficult With Time<\/h2>\n
Both Parents Deserve a Voice<\/h2>\n
A Mediator Can Help Make These Decisions<\/h2>\n