Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: Child Sports and Visitation Question

The answer to your question is, "It depends. . . " It depends on what your current Parenting Plan says about this, if anything, beyond the fact that you have joint decision making authority, which for the purpose of this answer, I presume you have. It depends on your son's age. It depends on your husband's reasoning for not wanting him to play baseball. In short, it depends on a lot of facts that I would want to walk through first, before coming down solidly one way or another.

I am guessing from your question, that you have joint decision making authority, and you signed your child up for baseball without the father's approval or at least without consultation. If that is so, he may be able to bring a contempt motion against you, which is not a good thing for you.

In cases where two parents disagree about something like this, usually, the first step is mediation, with an agreed upon mediator, to see if you can settle it "amicably."

If that does not work, then the person in your shoes, who wants to do something, should bring an action to modify the Parenting Plan so that one parent can have sole decision making authority in this one area (say sports). Once the court sanctions your son's baseball, either with an explicit order, or by granting you decision making authority in this area, your husband will then be obligated to take your son to his baseball practice and games that fall on the father's scheduled time with your son. Otherwise, you may seek a contempt order against him.

However, the court while granting you such decision making authority, may also say that you cannot schedule such activities in a way that substantially interferes with your son and his father's time together. If the court thinks that you are doing this just to make your ex's life miserable in any way, or as a means to control where he goes with your son, then depending on which commissioner or judge you are in front of, look out, because it is going to get ugly.

If you would like a free telephone consultation, please feel free to call or e-mail me, and we can set up a time to speak.