Parents have many responsibilities and rights when they have children. Parents typically need to provide the basic resources that their children require for health and safety. Shelter, food, clothing and other basic needs are the responsibility of the parents.
Parents also have legal authority over their children. Young children and teenagers generally cannot make well-reasoned decisions about their own needs. They rely on their parents to choose what kind of medical care they require, pick which school they attend and make decisions regarding their religious instruction.
Parents who live together share the responsibility of making choices for their children and typically discuss major decisions before making any commitments for the family. Once parents divorce, there may be questions about legal authority.
Parents usually share authority
Parents who separate or divorce usually have to work out arrangements that allow them to share parental rights and responsibilities. It is common practice for the courts to instruct parents to share parenting time or physical custody.
Each parent may have a certain percentage of overnight time with the children and must meet their needs during their parenting time. Typically, parents also receive shared decision-making authority or legal custody.
Each parent has the authority to make basic decisions when they are with their children. They decide if they want to take the children to the movies and what they eat for dinner. If a child falls and needs stitches, the parent caring for them at that time decides whether they go to urgent care or their primary care physician.
However, many of the decisions that parents have to make about children are not short-term but rather long-term choices. Decisions related to education, health care, living arrangements and religious observations generally require the input of both parents. Parents who share legal custody have to discuss major decisions and reach an agreement on major issues related to their children.
If they cannot reach an amicable arrangement between themselves, then the matter may need to go in front of the judge. Judges settling parental disputes or reviewing current custody arrangements should always focus on the best interests of the children.
Judges hearing disputes related to decision-making authority have the power to make decisions on specific issues. They can also modify the current custody order to change the allocation of legal decision-making authority.
Requesting final decision-making authority on certain matters could be an important component of custody negotiations or litigation. Learning more about the responsibilities and rights that parents must share can make it easier to resolve disagreements and take appropriate steps for the benefit of the children.