Wait a minute, you might say summer vacation has not even started yet, what are you talking about with back to school?

Where kids attend school is a common issue in family court. It comes up in two ways, when parents live in different school districts, we need to decide which district the kids will attend school in.

It also comes up when kids are in the same district, but the parents disagree on whether they should attend the local public school, a catholic school, other private school, or be homeschooled. These decisions can be difficult for parents that live together, they are much more challenging for separated parents.

If you and the other parent do not agree on the plan for school this fall now is the time to start trying to figure it out. It is best if you and the other parent can agree. If you cannot reach an agreement on your own, you can work with a mediator to help you reach agreement. In some cases, if you and the other parent have a custody order, either from a divorce, or a custody case, the order may require you to mediate before going to court. If mediation does not work, you will need to ask the Court to decide.

Court is SLOW! A motion hearing needs to be scheduled, court calendars are often backed up, it can take a month or two to get a hearing date, your motion and supporting affidavits need to be provided to the other side and served at least three weeks before the hearing. After the hearing, the Judge has up to 90 days to make a decision. They usually do not take that long, but do not expect to know within a week of your hearing. There are some cases where you can ask for an expedited decision in a shorter period of time, but it is rare for a judge to make an expedited decision.

All of this means that now is the time to deal with a fall school issue. If you wait until August, or even the 4th of July your chances of getting a court decision before school starts are not good.

Enjoy the summer with your kids, but get school squared away now so you do not have to stress about it later.

Ed