Joint, 50/50 Custody & Medical Decisions | Parental Rights

Divorced and separated parents usually have joint legal custody of their children. Joint legal custody means both parents have the authority to decide the child's schooling, religion, health care and other important matters. They may consult one another on every major decision or decide that they will each have final decision-making authority over certain topics.

Medical decisions are an especially sensitive topic for parents with joint or 50/50 custody. Each parent's personal or religious beliefs will influence whether they permit the child to see certain doctors, undergo certain treatments, etc. It is necessary for parents to get over their own biases to do what's best for their child's well-being.

Parental rights in joint custody medical decisions

Parents with joint legal custody have equal parental rights to make medical decisions. The expectation is that parents will reach out to one another before making a decision. The only exception to this is if parents have agreed to or the court has decided to give one parent sole legal custody for some or all medical decisions. Regardless, they should keep one another informed about what's going on with the child's health.

Matters parents need to consult one another about include:

• Health insurance coverage
• Doctors and specialists
• Appointments
• Vaccinations
• Medications
• Surgical procedures
• Mental health care

You have the right to disagree with your co-parent. You can try an alternative dispute resolution method to talk through it and hopefully come to an agreement. You'll need to go to court if you can't compromise, especially if you believe your co-parent's pushback is endangering your child. The court will decide what's best for the child based on the evidence each parent presents (e.g., the child's medical records). Parents or the court may call on professionals like custody evaluators, guardians ad litem and medical doctors to give input.

If the child has an emergency during your parenting time, you can make a decision on your own. For example, if the child falls and you believe they have a broken bone, you can take them to the hospital without asking for your co-parent's permission first. Inform the other parent as soon as possible.

Making nonemergency medical decisions you're supposed to make together without consulting your co-parent first could backfire if you go to court. Plus, it may lead to distrust in your co-parenting relationship.

Parental rights to make medical decisions may vary by jurisdiction. For example, if your child identifies as transgender, they may want gender-affirming care. While some states give parents the right to decide whether to allow this care — or let the court decide whether it's in the child's best interests — other states have restricted access to gender-affirming care for minors, limiting what you can choose to do for your child.

Co-parenting and doctor's appointments

Unless your custody order says otherwise, inform your co-parent when scheduling a doctor's appointment. Whether it's a routine checkup, a dental cleaning or a more serious matter, let your co-parent know the reason for the visit, when the visit is happening, the provider, the outcome and any associated costs.

Let your co-parent know before canceling or rescheduling an appointment. If you can't take your child to an appointment because of a scheduling conflict, your co-parent might be able to take them instead. Also, check with your co-parent before scheduling appointments during their time.

Generally, both custodial and noncustodial parents can attend doctor's visits. The court may restrict parents from attending together if it has concerns about safety or exposing the child to conflict. If you attend alone, make sure the doctor has the other parent's contact information so that parent stays informed about the child's health care.

An easy way to have conversations about appointments and other medical decisions is to use a co-parenting messaging app.

You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.

Joint legal custody and medications

Parents with joint or 50/50 custody have equal say when it comes to which medications the child takes.

It's important to have a conversation about your beliefs related to medications. For example, some parents prefer natural remedies to over-the-counter and prescription medications. You'll also need to consider whether your child is allergic to certain medications so you know what to avoid. Work with your child's doctors to figure out what's best for your child.

If your parenting plan or custody order states the child is to take certain medications, you must administer it or your co-parent can take you to court. Divorced parents of children with ADHD commonly disagree as to whether their children should be medicated. Joint legal custody does not allow a parent to refuse to give their child the medicine as ordered by a court.

Document how your child is reacting to the medications they take. (If the child is old enough, they can do this themselves.) This will help you and your co-parent decide on necessary adjustments. You'll need to consult your co-parent before stopping prescribed medication or asking the child's physician to adjust the dosage.

Addressing joint- or 50/50-custody medical decisions in your parenting plan

Working together on a plan to manage joint custody medical decisions helps your child get the care they need right away.

Generally, you'll state whether one or both parents will weigh in on each medical decision. Some parents choose to split decision-making responsibility to give one parent final say on certain topics. If you allow this, make sure you trust the parent given this power to make the best decisions for your child's health.

The Custody X Change parenting plan template allows you to easily detail how you'll handle medical decisions. Choose from popular health care provisions and create custom provisions to cover the topics unique to your unique situation.

You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.

Your plan could cover:

Health insurance

Name the parent who will provide the child's primary insurance or if the child will have state health insurance. You could also list secondary coverage if both parents have health insurance.

Medical expenses

It's common for parents with joint or 50/50 custody to split costs evenly. Keep records of how much you spend on your child's medical needs.

You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.

Appointments

State whether parents must give notice before scheduling an appointment or if providing notice of the appointment after it is scheduled is enough. Other things to consider: How soon after the appointment must the parent provide a report of what happened? How will you communicate about visits (phone, text or email)? Who's responsible for taking the child to the appointment?

You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.

Sharing the child's medical records

Both parents have a right to access the child's medical records. Explain timelines for sharing this information, and how you'll exchange it.

You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.

Illness

Address how you'll handle visitation when your child is ill. You could also charge one parent with picking up the child's assignments from school if they will be absent for a few days.

You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.

Medication

Include any important medications parents must administer when the child is in their custody.

You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.

Vaccinations

Your child's vaccination status can impact whether they can go to school, play sports, etc. Include your agreed-upon approach to vaccinations.

You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.

Surgery

Consider what you'll do if your child needs major surgery. Whose home will they recuperate in? If the child won't be able to go on visits while recovering, will the other parent be allowed to visit?

The topics you cover will be turned into a parenting plan, which you can file with the court to make your arrangement legally enforceable.

You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.

With a parenting plan template and more, Custody X Change makes it easy for parents with joint custody to manage their child's health care.