Q: Can my ex schedule activities on my visitation days?
I have a court-ordered visitation schedule with my children, but my ex is scheduling extracurricular activities on my visitation days, making it hard for me to spend time with them. While my children are interested in these activities, my ex, who is married to the coach, is primarily making these decisions. I've tried discussing this with her but haven't reached an agreement. Can she legally do this?
A:
In the absence of a court order to the contrary, a parent may register their child for any extracurricular activity they choose. If the activity occurs during the other parent's period of possession, the other parent is under no legal obligation to bring the child to the activity. It's no different than if the couple were married and one spouse signed the child up for an activity and the other spouse wants to do something else with the child during that time.
If the parents cannot work it out, they may very well end up back in court, spending a lot of time and money on attorney fees. Some judges will order parenting classes for the two. Others may order a parenting coordinator or ad litem. Some will order that each parent can pick one extracurricular activity per child. Sometimes the parents will work it out in mediation. Etc.
My advice is always to work it out with the other parent. That is almost always what is in the best interest of the child and is the least expensive, least stressful solution for everyone. Notwithstanding that advice, I earn thousands of dollars fighting this type of fight. The last one of these type of fights I took on earned me $13,000+ and took a little over a year for neither parent to be particularly ecstatic with the outcome. So, please feel free to disregard my advice and hire me to fight for you.
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