In many custody cases, parties are awarded joint custody. That is the expectation in the law unless there is a good legal argument against it, such as domestic violence, addiction, or mental health issues.  What many people are not aware of is that with joint custody comes joint decision making. This is what joint custody means unless there is a caveat that one of the parents has final decision making after consultation; or if there are particular spheres of influence, the parents make decisions with regard to particular issues regarding the children. By way of example, one parent may have final decision making on medical decisions and another parenthas final decision making on school or religious issues.

             There was a recent case which stressed the importance of parents to make joint decisions and the court stated one parent cannot unilaterally make a decision and expect the other parent to just follow suit.  If you have a joint custody case you may be tempted to think, “Well I will just make the decision, what is my ex going to really do about it, and this isn;’t that big a deal, I’ll just make the decision.?” They can do something and the repercussions may be harmful to you.

 In Nassau County, C. D-C v. W. C. September 14, Judge Goodstein showed what can happen if a parent makes a decision without the consent of the other parent.  In this particular case, the parents had joint legal custody and a 50/50 parenting schedule.  The father obtained a falsified COVID-19 vaccination card for the child.  He was against the COVID vaccination.  The mother filed a post-judgment order to show cause seeking to hold the defendant in contempt of the joint decision-making provision and modify the agreement to grant her sole medical decision-making authority.

 As a result, the court modified the joint custody agreement finding that the mother would have final decision on medical decisions.  The court was not pleased father made a decision without the mother’s consent; nor were they pleased about the falsification of the vaccine card.  

            Joint custody is the ideal to which parents are to try and follow. It is something to be taken seriously and a decision must be given due consideration, or you may lose your right to make such a decision.  Get the help and support you need. At the DePalo Law firm we offer parent coordination services to help parties coparent as well as legal coaching as well as litigations services if your ex is not abiding by the agreement concerning joint custody.