You’ve planned a visitation perfectly. While you are still waiting for your ex-spouse, someone else arrives to pick up your child. Can I release my kids to anyone else besides the other parent? In this circumstance, you must be wise. Try to approach every situation as though a judge were directing you to arrange the visitation.
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You must devise strategies to make parenting time feasible. You don’t have to consent to it with a stranger, but you may always try your hardest to facilitate parenting time. Find a means to guarantee that your ex-spouse receives the parenting time. In the future, there may come a time when you need to ask someone to pick up your child for you. And you might need your ex-partner to make accommodations for that situation.
Who is allowed to be with my children on behalf of my ex-spouse?
There will be moments when your ex-spouse has a scheduled parenting time but won’t make it. It can be due to an emergency or there is a huge distance between you. Your spouse may send a relative or a significant other instead. Do you say no to parenting time? Do you send off that someone without your child? Of course not.
Unless you have a reasonable belief your child is endangered, you may have to trust that person. The person acting on behalf of your ex-spouse. As long as that person is a responsible person, you have no reason not to. If you say no, you better have a very good reason. You will be explaining your reason to the judge later. By not allowing your child to go to a responsible person designated by your ex, you violated the parenting time order.
Standard visitation orders contain general terms and conditions for drop and pick up. It outlines who is permitted to be present when a child is picked up or left off. This provision states that either parent may choose a responsible adult to pick up and drop off the child. A second responsible adult must be present when the child is being picked up or left off.
By the broad definition of a responsible adult, a boyfriend or a girlfriend can easily fill the shoes. Your ex-spouse can send his or her significant partner to pick up and drop off your child during parenting time.
You do not have the power to decide whether your ex’s new partner can see your children or not. Your existing parenting schedule should define who your child can be with. If such a provision exists. You get to pick who will be present for parenting time with your child. The choice to introduce them to a significant other is yours. Whom your child hangs around with when they are with their other parent is up to that parent.
The court can limit the presence of romantic partners around your minor children. The court can restrict any other individual as well. The addition of a cohabiting partner or new spouse to the family should be a concern. It may be a reason for the other parent to submit a motion to change custody or parenting time.
The introduction of new persons into a child’s life should always be done with caution by parents. It’s disruptive and detrimental for children. Especially when parents push them to meet and build bonds with new partners. These new partners may subsequently leave their lives. A parent’s bad judgment may result in the loss of custody or parenting time. A live-in third party who later the judge will discover to be dangerous to the children.
Can I delegate my parental authority?
You might need to leave your child with a non-parent on occasion. Give your child’s caretaker temporary legal authority to make decisions for your child. This is important if you are leaving on a trip or will be hard to contact for any other reason. You can create a Delegation of Parental Authority to do this.
Certain decisions may have to be made in your absence. Decisions that are time bound or the opportunity to react may lapse. It may not be a life-and-death decision. But, it could be unusually inconvenient and costly if not made promptly.
You have the legal authority to take the following actions on behalf of your child as a parent:
[ a ] Choose the location and time of your child’s visit to the doctor.
[ b ] Consent to your child’s medical care
[ c ] Decide where your child will go to school
Your caregiver cannot do any of the above-mentioned actions. They can only via a legitimate legal document or court order granting these powers.
It is a good idea to temporarily transfer parental authority to a child’s caregiver. Especially when a parent leaves their child in the care of another person. This is crucial when making choices about medical care. A Delegation of Parental Authority (DPA) is a legal document. Parents can use DPA to provide another person the authority to make those choices. To use a DPA, you must have legal custody (sole or joint).
A DPA gives your child’s caregiver the authority to act legally. He or she can do so on your behalf only while you are away. Even if a DPA is in place, the caregiver has no authority to intervene if you are there to make decisions for your child.
The person you provide a DPA to is called your agent. An agent is a person to whom you legally delegate the authority to take action. Action that ordinarily, only you could. Your agent could be a family member, close friend, or another responsible adult.
What should I do to manage who can interact with our minor child?
You may never get comfortable about having your children interact with new people. Not now or in their new lives after divorce. It will probably be worse if you’re dealing with the significant other.
A new partner may influence custody. The best interests of the child must be considered by the courts at all times. It calls for taking a close look at the child’s living arrangements. And this includes any new boyfriend or girlfriend that the parent may have.
The court’s judgment is not made only based on a parent’s new partner. When the court evaluates the best interest factors, there are more to take into account. It can be the child’s emotional and physical needs. It can be parental skills, a history of abuse or violence, and so forth.
Fighting over child custody is not warranted if you simply disagree with the ex’s new spouse. You must have a strong argument. You have to support your notions. The notion is that exposing children to this new relationship will be detrimental.
For instance, the relationship is unstable because they keep separating and reconciling. Violence, drug use, or having a criminal record are also factors to consider.
The children’s best interests are all that matters in custody and parenting time. A person has to have a history of violence against children. Or drug abuse, drunkenness, or criminal convictions. Courts often do not impose restrictions on who can be around your minor child.
Your custody arrangement may be silent about specific third parties. Or anyone being present during parenting time. Your ex-spouse has a right over who can be near the children. You must make an application to modify the existing court order. Have your attorney file a motion. A motion that reflects your wishes if you don’t want a specific party near your child.
You must submit a show-cause request. Ask for it if the other parent disobeys a court order. The court order issued by a family law judge banning a party from seeing your child. A show cause is a petition. It cites your ex-partner in contempt of Court for disobeying the Judge’s prior order.
The court may help a parent avoid violating the parenting time schedule. The judge may grant physical custody to the offending party. The court can also have the offending party receive a restricted visiting schedule.
To avoid all these challenges, it’s best to talk to your attorney. Go over your parenting time plan again. Review the provisions and suggest changes. Ask your attorney to prepare a motion to have the changes included in the parenting time modifications.
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Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.