Co-Parenting for Kids That Play Sports
Being a divorced parent is always challenging. It’s even more challenging when kids play sports. Here are some common questions and answers that arise for divorced parents with kids that play sports:
Can the child skip parenting time if they have practice or a game?
The courts don’t think that sports are a good excuse to skip parenting time. That’s because they don’t want parents using a child’s sports schedule to keep the child from having time with the other parent. Divorced parents with kids who play sports must follow the court order even if that means the child misses a practice or a game.
Does the child have to miss out on sports because of parenting time?
Even though you can’t let the child skip parenting time because of sports, the courts believe that children can have shared custody and play sports too. The courts may be open to making a change in the schedule to accommodate co-parenting and joint custody. For example, if the child goes to the co-parent every other weekend, the court might consider giving that parent the summer, spring break and winter break instead. It’s unlikely that the court will decrease a parent’s total time with a child because of sports, but they may be willing to move things around.
Who can go to the game?
Some parents make the mistake of assuming that only the parent who has parenting time that day can go to the child’s sporting event. When you have legal shared custody, this isn’t the case. Unless the court order says otherwise, in legal joint custody cases, both parents have the right to know about the child’s events and go to the games. If a parent has a pattern of behaving inappropriately at the games, you may be able to ask the court to intervene. However, the general rule is that in cases of shared custody, both parents get to go to the game even if it’s not on your parenting day.
We can help
If you’re in a co-parenting situation as one of the many divorced parents with kids that play sports, we may be able to help. Whether the other parent is amicable or not, we can help you create a plan for your children’s best interests. We may be able to work it out with the other parent, or we may need to bring your case to court. Contact us today so that we can begin working on your case.
