Co-parenting can be hard. You and your child’s other parent might have conflicting ideas about how to raise your child, and personal animosities can get in the way of effective parenting strategies. Poor communication, personal grudges and misunderstandings can lead to conflict that unfairly puts your child in the middle of heated arguments and inconsistent parenting decisions, too. While you might be able to have an open and honest conversation with the other parent about how to work through the issues you’re facing, you probably can’t count on resolution there. This could leave you considering when it’s the right time to seek court intervention to resolve the matter.
How do you know you need court involvement to address bad co-parenting?
A poor co-parenting relationship can be toxic not just for you, but also for your child. It’s crucially important that you act to protect your child’s best interests, which may require you to take your co-parenting issues to court. Here are some circumstances that may warrant additional legal action:
- The other parent’s behavior is in violation of an existing court order: If the other parent is willfully violating a court order, then the court may hold them in contempt if you ask it to do so. You’ll have to file a legal request asking the court to order the other parent to appear in court and specify why they shouldn’t be held in contempt, but if you’re successful here the court may act to coerce the other parent into compliance. This could include hitting them with a monetary penalty or even sending them to jail.
- You need a specific court order to address the matter: If you and the other parent can’t sort the issue out on your own, then you may have to ask the court to specifically order what it is that you want. Here, you’ll just need to make sure that your legal request is valid, is in your child’s best interests and is supported by evidence. For example, if the other parent consistently fails to pick up or drop off your child at specified times, then you may need a court order that reflects the time by which those pickups and drop offs have to occur.
- You need a broader custody modification to protect your child’s best interests: In many instances, it’s obvious that a co-parenting relationship and its existing custody order is harmful to the child. When this is the case, a modification should be sought. To succeed on a modification request, you’ll have to demonstrate that there’s been a material and substantial change in circumstances and that the requested modification is in the child’s best interests, which will require you to present a significant amount of evidence in support of your request. However, this evidence may be available from your communications with the other parent, witness accounts, mental health and education records, your child’s own statements and even criminal records. If you’re going this route, be as holistic as possible to ensure you’re presenting the court with a complete picture.
Are you ready to get a handle on your co-parenting and custody issues?
The more conflict that exists in your co-parenting relationship, the more your child could be put at risk. So, act quickly to resolve any problems that exist by trying to informally work them out with the other parent, then taking the matter to court if those discussions don’t prove fruitful. By being proactive and gathering the evidence needed to support whatever child custody requests you may make, you can strongly position yourself to secure the outcome needed to keep your child safe.