FAQ: How to Choose Schools After Divorce?

As the school year approaches, we frequently are asked choice-of-school issues. The best time to address these issues is before a final order is entered.

If you and the other parent share joint legal custody but you disagree on your child’s school, there is no one answer – other than to take a copy of your judgment of divorce (or your custody and parenting time court order) to an experienced family lawyer to review your options.  Choice of school issues can be very contentious – but they frequently can be resolved with solutions focused on your child’s needs and the practicalities of where the parents reside.

If you have not yet finalized a judgment of divorce or your final court order, this is an excellent time to work with your lawyer and the other parent to specifically agree upon provisions regarding (1) your child’s school and (2) how you would plan to address possible future changes.  As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure:  a small investment in good planning for your child’s school options can provide for a positive and orderly way to address their education – rather than using funds that could be saved for their college education to litigate about their grade school and high school years.

As always, if you have questions or concerns about these important issues, please feel free to consult with one of our attorneys, all of whom have years of experience, and examples of creative options, for addressing choice of school issues in divorce and family law matters.

PLEASE NOTE: This blog is not intended to constitute legal, financial and/or tax advice.  We do not recommend making important decisions of the type addressed in this article without specific legal or tax advice by a licensed accountant or lawyer.