Having Disputes With Your Ex About Schooling?

By this time of year, families have made it out the other side of preparing the kids for the new school year – finding the right school or applying to new schools and making sure all the materials and clothing etc are bought and ready to go. 

Deciding on a new school can be an especially arduous process at times but it can be even more so when trying to come to an agreement with an ex partner.

So what does ‘parental responsibility’ entail by law and how can separated parents deal with disagreements over schooling?

Parental Responsibility

Even after separation or divorce, parental responsibility involves many things such as medical treatment and choice of religion. Italso includes making decisions about your child’s education.

Legally, parental responsibility automatically lies with the birth mother and the father has parental responsibility if he is married to the mother when the child is born. In the case of unmarried parents, if the father is registered on the child’s birth certificate as their father (after 2003) parental responsibility can be acquired. The father can also attain parental responsibility by entering into a parental responsibility agreement with the mother or applying for a Court order.

Only under rare and extreme circumstances is it deemed in the child’s best interests for parental responsibility to be taken away from a parent. So parents are expected to discuss and come to agreements about important decisions relating to their child’s education. But this doesn’t always happen. They simply may not agree or unilateral decisions are being made without consulting the other parent. 

In this case, what are the options?

Mediation

Mediation may be an option if the case is not time sensitive and can be very helpful. This would be with a trained, independent third party mediator. They will assist in encouraging open and productive communication between the parents to be able to come to an amicable decision. They may even talk to the child to assist in this process, depending on their age.

However, at times mediation may not be effective in which case a Specific Issue Order or a Prohibited Steps Order are options.Both require that the parents try mediation prior to applying for these Court orders. 

Court Orders

A Specific Issue Order is for dealing with a specific matter concerning the child, such as what school the child should go to.

A Prohibited Steps Order is to stop the other parent exercising their parental responsibility unilaterally, such as taking the child out of school or threatening to do so.

The Court’s main concern with these cases is what is going to be in the best interests of the child, so a range of factors will be considered such as the effects of the change, any harm they may suffer and how capable the parents are of meeting the child’s needs.

This will also include the child’s:

• feelings and wishes

• physical, emotional and educational needs

• age, sex and background

And of course, parent’s need to have these considerations in mind as well as many others such as the location of the school and how that affects logistics of child arrangements, the financial impact of changing schools.

So yes, it can be a complicated process. However, it can be helpful to know there are options and help available. To speak to a divorce professional can put your mind at rest and Sara and the team are always on hand to chat through options with you.