The severe effects of COVID-19 are hitting us personally, even in our family. Vaccinating or not vaccinating. What if my ex vaccinated my child without telling me, can I do anything? This can be a difficult query for a parent in Michigan. In light of how the government and the general population feel, it is difficult. You can request a decision on this from the court.
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In a perfect world, the court would educate both parties on the importance of making decisions together as part of their parental responsibilities. The best course of action is to submit an application for a hearing so that the court can make a decision if you are unable to come to an agreement. The court could side with the government and the public, therefore this comes with a warning. The judge can decide that your child needs to be immunized.
What’s Up with COVID in Michigan?
Even though the Covid19 vaccine is only the most recent iteration of the vaccine debate, Michigan’s divorced parents have been at odds over whether or not to vaccinate their children for years. Of course, parents who are not divorced can also disagree on this. Even stable marriages hold contrasting views.
The State of Michigan is examining and treating COVID-19 patients around-the-clock. Here is the most recent information that state-wide healthcare specialists have gathered. As of this writing data is now being updated as follows:
Data on cases and fatalities are usually updated every Tuesday. Data on cases and deaths will include both confirmed and improbable cases and fatalities.
The CDC COVID-19 community levels map has taken the position of the cumulative county COVID-19 case rate map, and it will be updated every Friday.
As of this writing here’s what’s happening with COVID in Michigan.
[ a ] 2,897,827 total COVID-19 confirmed and probable cases
[ b ] 39,406 COVID-19 deaths overall, including confirmed and likely
[ c ] Weekly Confirmed and Probable Cases for COVID-19: 11,651
[ d ] 1,664 average daily confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases
[ e ] Deaths in Confirmed and Probable Cases in Weekly COVID-19 156
Although child deaths attributed to COVID were relatively low, a thousand deaths is a big number for any parent.
With all that apprehension about getting or not getting the vaccine, it may be moot to discuss the efficacy since data is already telling us the vaccine was not really as effective for children as anticipated. At the height of COVID it was the driver for the surge of court cases affecting custody and parenting time. A lot of disputes arose as to whether or not to get children vaccinated.
Who Gets to Make the Decision About Vaccinations?
The choice normally rests with your co-parenting or custody agreement, whether you are the parent who supports vaccinations for your children or the one who opposes them. You should always turn to your custody records as a starting point in any major argument. Whoever has legal custody typically decides on medical issues, including immunizations.
Consider a situation where one parent is granted sole legal custody of their child. If so, they are the ones with the power to decide whether the youngster will receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The decision-maker has the right to make it even if the other parent objects.
There is no established legal definition for the term “sole custody.” The Michigan Custody Guideline specifies that the parent is the sole custodian when that parent is granted both primary physical custody and primary legal custody. Physical custody is granted to a parent if they spend the majority of the time caring for their child. When a parent is given legal custody, they are in charge of making all important decisions regarding the child’s upbringing, such as those involving their health care, education, upbringing in religion, and participation in extracurricular activities.
The court anticipates that when there is joint legal custody, the co-parents will discuss these issues and reach a consensus. However, there is always a chance of this happening, particularly in a hotly contested issue like this vaccination. In cases where both parents share legal custody, sometimes one parent retains the right to make the final decision. That parent has the final say if this applies to you.
If for some reason this issue ends up in court, the court will likely lecture both parties on making decisions together as part of their custodial responsibilities in the best case scenario. The best course of action is to file a motion for a hearing to let the court make the decision if you can’t come to an understanding on the matter.
If parents can’t agree, the judge will make the decision in a hearing. A Lombardo hearing is the term used to describe such a hearing. The court will hear testimony about the factors that are in the child’s best interest during a Lombardo hearing. A Lombardo hearing resembles a custody trial in many ways, even if the judge in a choice of school case is not obligated to consider every best interest criterion. Every best interest factor will be looked at if the student’s school choice would lead to a change in custody.
Lombardo hearing is a phrase in reference to the famous child custody case with Docket No. 145361 submitted to the Michigan Court of Appeal on June 2, 1993 and was decided on October 18, 1993.
How Will Courts Decide if Parents Can’t Make the Decision About COVID Vaccine?
You cannot alter parenting time or restrict your ex’s access to your children even within the threat of COVID unless you have a prior motion to modify it accordingly.
Before you violate your order, you must make an effort to have it modified. Getting a hearing promptly could be challenging because court operations are constrained during the emergency. There are urgent motions being discussed to safeguard health and safety. If at all feasible, you ought to consult an attorney for counsel before making any decisions.
Parents must ensure they have more than a generalized fear or suspicion of risk when the other parent does not concur that one residence poses a greater risk than the other since the court order is still in effect. Without a consent, disobeying the command is serious.
You will receive a notice and one of many sanctions if you break the order and the other parent notifies the FOC in writing of the violation. If you violate the order, the office may impose a makeup parenting time schedule, set up a joint meeting or mediation, or arrange a hearing (often known as a “show cause hearing”) where you must provide justification. A show cause hearing may also be scheduled by the other parent without the involvement of the FOC.
If you ask how the judge is going to rule on this issue of vaccination, it may be difficult to guess. Every judge is different and may be considering the same factors as your lawyer but is looking at it differently. Judges may choose not to look at certain evidence of your position or may question their credibility in the light of many controversies associated with the COVID-19 vaccine even in the medical community.
If a Lombardo hearing is unavoidable. The caveat in this situation is that the court might adopt the stance of the executive branch and the public. The judge might decide to vaccinate your child or leave the decision to the legal custodian.
Even if the parents disagree with the judge’s judgment, they must abide by it once the matter has been decided by the court. You could get into a lot of legal trouble if you don’t follow a judge’s instructions!
It’s not very appealing to have a stranger in a black robe decide your child’s health. Because of this, parents are constantly urged to resolve these issues without the assistance of a judge.
Like we always advocate here, it is best you talk to your ex and find a way to find the right information together so you don’t have to force your position based on a limited range of options.
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Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.