Certain types of medical care are straightforward and even mandatory for a full recovery. If a child falls from a tree while climbing and breaks an arm, they clearly need an x-ray to diagnose the injury and a cast to stabilize the fractured bone.
Other treatments may not be as clearly necessary. There might be a variety of treatment options available, or the care sought might not be medically necessary. While parents may agree about the need for emergency trauma care when a child breaks a bone, there may be disputes about other types of care that could have long-reaching consequences for the family.
Maybe one parent questions whether a child needs mental health counseling or questions the professional selected. Perhaps one parent supports a teenager’s desire for rhinoplasty while the other wants them to mature into adulthood before considering cosmetic procedures.
What happens when parents who share custody of their children disagree about the medical care that their children may or may not require?
Parents typically share medical authority
It is standard practice for the courts to award both parents shared custody. An allocation of shared custody typically involves both physical custody or parenting time and legal custody or decision-making power. Both parents have the legal authority necessary to make immediate decisions about important matters during their parenting time.
Decisions with longer-lasting implications may require the input of both parents. In scenarios where there are questions about the need for certain types of care or the most appropriate way to treat a medical issue, parents may need to talk with one another and consult with more than one medical professional before resolving the matter. If parents truly cannot reach an agreement about key medical decisions, then the matter may require the attention of a family law judge.
How can a judge help?
When parents disagree about critical parenting decisions, such as what medical care a child actually requires, a judge can help resolve the dispute. Judges hearing disagreements about legal custody have the authority to make a determination for the family. They can review the evidence and determine which solution is in the child’s best interests, thus resolving the dispute.
In some cases, they may choose to modify the existing custody order to prevent future conflicts related to medical care. They can grant one parent the final decision-making authority on specific types of medical issues. Ideally, parents can find ways to work with one another and resolve their disagreements about the medical needs of their children. When they can’t, they need to know what steps to take to ensure their children receive appropriate medical support.
Understanding the rules that apply in shared custody scenarios can help people navigate conflicts and possibly even avoid them entirely. Parents with shared legal custody either need to reach agreements about what kind of medical care their children need or may require the support of a judge to resolve their disputes.