Chicago, IL asked in Divorce and Family Law for Missouri

Q: Which parent is responsible for school morning drop off in this scenario?

One day a week, the father picks up children in the evening and drives them to his home about one hour away. The next morning, he wants me to pick them up from his home one hour away, take them to school one hour away from there, then I have to drive about one hour to work. Court order says his time ends “before school or 8am” on a weekday. Paperwork also says receiving parent of the children is responsible for pick up. I don’t agree that I am the receiving parent if they are going to school. The school is technically receiving them, I’m going to work, and they are in his care up until school or 8am per the order. Who is responsible for this?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Spencer Williams
Spencer Williams
Answered
  • Saint Charles, MO
  • Licensed in Missouri

A: From the description you would be the receiving parent. All the time in a given day needs to be accounted for between each parent (the school is not a custodian of your child) so as the start of school or as of 8:00 am the children are back in your custody. A common discussion is if a child gets sick at school which parent is responsible for pick up. I would suggest exploring a modification (I would suggest you attempt to mediate this relatively small issue before filing in court) to change the language for father’s time to end by returning the child(ren) to school or if there is no school at 8:00 am. In addition to the long drive you have, this schedule does not look like it is very easy on your child(ren) with all the driving leading into a school day.

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