Co-parenting involves working cooperatively across two households to raise children together, usually with a focus on doing what is best for the children. Divorced or separated parents typically share parental rights and responsibilities.
Not only do they divide parenting time, but they usually also need to share decision-making authority or legal custody. Parents concerned about meeting their children’s needs may worry about whether they have the authority to make important decisions.
Which parent generally gets to make choices regarding medical care in a shared custody arrangement?
Parents should agree on treatment decisions
If parents share legal decision-making authority, they generally need to work cooperatively to make significant decisions. Choices regarding who serves as a child’s primary care physician and whether or not they undergo elective medical procedures generally involve both parents unless the parenting plan designates one adult as the party with the final decision-making authority.
Either parent can make decisions in pressing emergency scenarios. If a child needs to have a broken bone in their arm set because they fall off a bike one afternoon, the parent with parenting time on that day can choose what medical facility they go to while seeking emergency care.
However, changes to a child’s primary care physician or decisions about long-term treatment generally require the input and agreement of both parents. Regularly communicating about a child’s condition can help parents work cooperatively to make medical decisions.
Going back to court is sometimes necessary when child custody disputes related to decision-making authority arise. Parents who focus on their child’s best interests can present compelling cases to the courts when there are disputes about critical medical decisions.