Changes to the Divorce Act - What is Joint Decision-Making Responsibility & What it Isn’t
There are many misconceptions surrounding many different aspects of separation and divorce and their outcomes, and none more so than the implications of decision-making responsibility for a child. Prior to March 1, 2021, “decision-making responsibility” was referred to as “custody”.
Two of the most common misunderstandings are:
Decision-making responsibility is not about how much time each parent spends with the children.
Joint decision-making responsibility does not necessarily mean that children will spend equal time with each parent.
What is Decision-Making Responsibility?
Decision-making responsibility is the responsibility for making major decisions about a child’s well-being. This includes decisions about a child’s:
health;
education;
language, culture, religion, spirituality; and
significant extra-curricular activities.
What is Joint Decision-Making Responsibility?
The first step in getting a better idea of joint decision-making responsibility is to understand that family law courts make a high priority of the physical, emotional and psychological safety, security and well-being of a child involved in separation or divorce.
With that in mind, joint decision-making responsibility means that each parent has the legal right to take part in major decisions in their child’s lives. This is regardless of the fact that the child may spend significant amounts of time with both parents or may be in the primary care of only one parent.
For clarity, joint decision-making responsibility generally means that neither parent can make major decisions about their child’s life without consulting, and coming to an agreement on the decision, with the other parent.
There are exceptions where the parents agree to consult on some decisions about the children, but not others. An example is where one parent has the right to make unilateral decisions about schooling, but both parents must agree on extracurricular activities.
What Happens If Parents Can’t Agree?
Any disagreements between parents about issues surrounding their child must be settled by the parents. If they can’t come to a mutually acceptable solution, they may need to return to family court for a judge to assist them to reach a settlement or make a final decision.
If the court decides that parents can’t agree on major decisions regarding their child, the court may order that one parent gets sole decision-making responsibility for the children. While parents may not necessarily get along after a separation or divorce, it is not usual that a court would take away the rights to make decisions from a parent without proof that the parent is incapable of making decisions in the best interest of the child and cooperating with the other parent.
At Williams Family Lawyers, our team has many years of experience dealing with custody and decision-making cases including those involving high-conflict. If you have any questions about child joint decision-making responsibility in a divorce, or any other family law matters, please Contact Us here at Williams Family Lawyers.