Many recently divorced parents in Kansas City struggle to balance their personal issues with their co-parents and their shared responsibilities as parents. It’s vital for any parent to develop healthy coping mechanisms after divorce and to prevent their personal issues with their co-parent from distressing their child. Unfortunately, it’s common for newly divorced parents to struggle to adapt to their new circumstances, and it can take a long time before divorced parents develop a cohesive and collaborative co-parenting strategy.
If you have recently divorced your co-parent in Kansas City or have a contentious relationship with them for any reason, co-parenting effectively will require compromise from both of you. An experienced family law attorney can guide you through the legal proceedings you must complete to obtain your custody order. They can also help you understand your rights and responsibilities under the order. Additionally, you will need their help to address any suspected violations of your custody agreement, and an experienced Kansas City family law attorney is also an invaluable source for guidance on many other related legal issues in the family court system.
Resolving Common Parenting Disputes
Every parent faces different challenges when raising their child, but a divorce and a custody order make parenting even more difficult in many cases. Some of the most common causes of disputes between co-parents are relatively simple issues, but the personal dynamics between the parents can make it very difficult for them to reach mutually agreeable solutions.
Disagreements based on raising their child, such as spiritual upbringing, education, and other major decisions, can easily generate contentious parenting disputes. Parents who share legal custody are required to collaborate and make mutually agreeable decisions on their child’s behalf. When a parent puts their own interests before a child’s, or if a parent refuses to accept a proposed change that would benefit their child due to the apparent benefit it provides the other parent, the parents may need to resolve the matter in family court.
Scheduling disputes can also be disruptive to a family and generate feuds between co-parents. Parents with custody orders are required to adhere to the parenting schedule allocated in the order. Some parents share custody on alternating weeks, others split custody every few days, and some parents may only have custody for a portion of the year while the other parent has custody for the rest of the year.
Parents are allowed to deviate slightly from their parenting time schedule as long as there is mutual agreement. For example, if a parent has a medical emergency, the other parent may have extended custody time for a week or two, and then they agree to “repay” that time once the other parent recovers. Parents should be able to resolve one-off schedule changes like these relatively easily, but if they cannot reach a mutual agreement, they will need a court order.
Best Practices for Better Co-parenting
Ultimately, every family is unique, every child has different needs, and the most effective parenting strategies are different for every family. When managing your relationship with your co-parent, no matter what your personal situation entails, it is vital to remember that you must separate your feelings about your co-parent from your responsibilities as a parent. An experienced Kansas City family law attorney is an invaluable asset for a divorce, custody dispute, or any other issue pertaining to your custody and visitation rights. If you face a difficult conflict with your co-parent or believe you have the right to seek more expansive custody rights or a reasonable change to your order, you need an experienced attorney’s assistance to succeed with these efforts.
FAQs
Q: What Should I Do If My Co-parent Poses a Danger to Our Child?
A: If you have any reason to believe your child’s other parent poses any danger to your child’s well-being, you should consult your attorney and notify the police in an emergency. The family court of Kansas City has a legal obligation to always rule in favor of preserving the best interests of all children affected by the court’s rulings, and the family court takes allegations of parental unfitness very seriously.
Q: What Does Contempt of Court Mean?
A: You can file contempt proceedings against your co-parent if they intentionally violate your family court order. When a parent is held in contempt of court, they have knowingly breached their family court order in some way. The penalties for this can include fines, asset seizure, incarceration, loss of custody rights, and various other punishments at the discretion of the judge.
Q: How Can a Parent Lose Their Custody Rights in Kansas City, MO?
A: Involuntary termination of parental rights may be the response to any incident in which a parent demonstrates a clear danger to their child and/or unfitness to handle their parental responsibilities. Child abuse of any kind, domestic violence of any kind, a severe criminal offense, and other extreme circumstances can lead to contempt proceedings, criminal charges, and permanent loss of custody and visitation rights.
Q: Can My Co-parent and I Make One-Off Changes to a Custody Arrangement?
A: Parents with custody orders in Kansas City could encounter unforeseen circumstances that compel them to alter their typical custody schedule. For example, if one parent typically has their child over the weekend, but the other parent has a medical emergency, they may keep their child for a longer stay until the other parent recovers. This would not be a violation of the custody order, and parents may also resolve any other one-off custody scheduling issues through mutual agreement. However, if a custody schedule disruption occurs and the parents cannot reach a mutual agreement, they will need a court order to resolve the matter.
Ultimately, any custody violation can lead to very stressful legal proceedings and substantial challenges for everyone involved. While it may seem extraordinarily challenging to some, taking time to develop cohesive co-parenting strategies after the finalization of your custody order can pay off tremendously for you, your co-parent, and your child. Reach out to an experienced Kansas City, MO, family law attorney if you have specific questions about how you can co-parent more effectively in your unique situation.
