Woman was found in contempt for unilaterally moving her child to a different school district

A recent ruling by the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Wisconsin is causing some controversy, according to the Wisconsin Law Journal. The court affirmed a lower court ruling that found a woman in contempt for moving her child to a different school without first notifying the child’s father. The parents of the child have joint legal custody and the ruling may help clarify the duties and responsibilities of other parents in similar circumstances.

Found in contempt

In this case, the woman, who had primary physical custody of the child, unilaterally moved the child to a different school district. The father, who was not notified of the move, argued that his rights as joint legal custodian of the child were violated and that the woman’s action was in contempt of a court order.

The circuit court agreed with the father and found the woman in contempt. The woman appealed and one of the arguments she made to the Court of Appeals was that because she had primary physical custody of the child she should be able to decide where the child is schooled. The court disagreed with this argument since primary physical custody only gave the woman the right to make “routine daily decisions” for the child. Since a change of school could not be considered a “routine daily decision,” the woman had an obligation to consult with the father before changing the child’s place of education. As such, the Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court and found the woman in contempt.

Joint legal custody

Not everybody agrees, however, that the court made the right decision in this case. The article in the Wisconsin Law Journal argues that the court misread the legal definition of joint legal custody. Under Wisconsin statute section 767.001(1s), joint legal custody is defined as “the condition under which both parties share legal custody and neither party’s legal custody rights are superior, except with respect to specified decisions as set forth by the court or the parties in the final judgment or order.”

According to the Wisconsin Law Journal article, such a definition simply means that both parents have equal rights concerning certain major decision made on the child’s behalf. The law, however, does not say that the parents necessarily have to agree on or discuss those decisions. The article claims that while the woman may have been wrong in moving the child without consulting the father, the fact that she did so cannot be used to find her in contempt since the law does not specify that she needed to consult the father in the first place.

Resolving child custody disputes

As the above case shows, child custody disputes are often fraught with tension, and trying to understand the relevant statutes is not always easy. Parents seeking custody of a child or modification to an existing custody agreement should first consult with an experienced family law lawyer. With qualified legal representation, parents will have somebody at their side with an in-depth knowledge of how the family law system typically functions in Wisconsin.