Making major decisions in a child custody case can be complicated
Child custody cases usually involve both parents having to work together to help make decisions for the children. When there are major things going on with the children and serious decisions have to be made, it can be hard to make those as a team.
One of the first things that you should do is to review the child custody agreement to determine who is responsible for what decisions. In some cases, there is one parent who is assigned to make choices for specific areas. It is also possible that both parents will share the responsibility.
When you share the decision making, you will have to work closely together. This isn’t really possible in emergency situations, but it must happen in all others. You have to remember that your children have to be at the heart of the choices you make. Keeping the conversations respectful can make everything a lot easier to deal with.
Compromise is often the key in these cases. Each parent has to be willing to give a little to come to a mutually agreeable resolution. This might not be easy, but you can use mediation to help you to do this.
If your children are old enough to think logically and let you know what they want, listening might be a good idea. While you can’t let the children make the decisions for you, knowing what they are thinking might help you to steer the choices in the right direction.
There are some instances in which you might have to head back to court to have the final decision making powers for the situation clarified. This is often a last resort measure, since many parents like to work things out together without involving the court. Still, if you find that you need to turn to the court, be sure that you are protecting your children’s interests and your own.