The first few months of the school year can be hard for parents that divorced within the last few months. Not only do you not spend as much time with your child as you did in the summer, but you also might have a new custody schedule to deal with. The time the child spends with their respective parents during the school year is often drastically different for many Arizona families.
Unfortunately, a new time of the year can bring new problems. The school year is much more difficult to plan for since your kid can get involved in sports, extracurricular activities or even go to a friend’s house to hang out after school. Your ex may also struggle to adjusting to the new schedule as well, or they could use the confusion you and your child may experience to their advantage. To avoid losing more time with your kid and getting into potential custody disputes, you need to speak to the following people:
Your ex
Even if you and your ex didn’t end your relationship on the best terms, you both have a duty to raise your child. They should let you know any problems your child is having in school and vice-versa. If you want to avoid any potential confusion on who should pick the child up from school on what days, you need to speak with them and bring the custody schedule with you. This allows both of you the opportunity to plan for major school events and holidays within the next few months.
Your child
Your kid is still adjusting to living in two different houses by the time the school year starts, so they may be confused as to what home to go to after they are done with class. Provide them with a calendar stating what days they spend the night at your place and what days they’ll go to your ex. You could do this in a physical planner or share an online document with them they could access on their computer or their phone. It’s important that they view this as early as possible before your ex could trick them into coming to their place on one of your days.
Your child’s teachers
If you want to avoid your kid getting manipulated by your ex over custody days, then you need additional support to convince your child what days you get with them. Send the official custody schedule to your child’s teachers. If your child is confused on who they can go to after school, the last teacher they see during the day can clear up any doubts. It can be easier for your child to process if it comes from an unbiased source.
If you still run into any custody disputes despite taking all of these precautions, contact an experienced family law attorney to help clear any questions you and your family members might have on Arizona’s custody laws.