Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Which Parent Decides the School?

My exhusband has told my son that he is getting a lawyer to be able to send him the high school closest to where he lives in Anne Arundel county. My son is in Catholic school now that I pay all tuition for and had planned to send him to HS in Howard County. We live right on the HS football field and my husband's two daughters go there now. It is a much better school, but my ex doesn't want to drive up here every day. I gave him the option of taking the kids Mon-Fri and him having most weekends, but he doesn't want to do that. Right now we share custody - I have the kids Wed after school to Sunday around one. He has them Sun afternoon to Wed AM. What can I do to ensure my son gets the best education in Howard County?


Asked on 2/04/09, 10:00 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bill Wood Law Office of William C. Wood, LLC

Re: Which Parent Decides the School?

This is a decision that relates to legal custody, or who is authorized to make major decisions on behalf of the child. When you say that you have shared custody, I am assuming that you have a court order and that you have joint legal and physical custody. If that is the case, then you have a potential impasse since you would each have an equal say in the school decision. If there is a tiebreaker provision in the order, then that parent would have the final say. If one of you has sole legal custody, then that parent gets to choose. Finally, the order may have a provision for dealing with disputes, such as having the issue mediated instead of resorting to litigation.

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Answered on 2/05/09, 9:49 am


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