As a parent, you want to know your kids are safe, even when they're not with you. Many divorced and unmarried parents see the time their children spend with their coparent as out of their control, and risky. But when those risks are high, there may be a way to protect your kids, even in their other parents' home. Michigan judges can sometimes put conditions on parenting time to guard against known dangers and keep your kids safe.

You Can't Control What Happens During Your Co-Parent's Parenting Time

In many families, one parent is primarily responsible for child-related issues like cooking, hygiene, and discipline. If you were that person before your marriage broke down or your relationship ended, you may have concerns about your co-parent's ability to take care of your children. If you were used to being the one in control, you may try to limit what their kids do while in their other parent's house.

Michigan law doesn't allow this. Even if you share joint legal custody (which most parents do), the parent exercising parenting time has the authority to make day-to-day routine decisions about the children's care. Legal custody only applies to major decisions related to your kids' health, education, religious upbringing, and wellbeing. For example, getting your children braces is a legal custody decision. Making sure they brush their teeth is a routine decision your co-parent can make without your input or consent.

Michigan Child Custody Act Allows Conditions on Parenting Time

However, there are times when your concerns are less about control and more about safety. In other cases, a simple instruction in a court order can avoid confusion or disagreements between parents for years to come. To address legitimate safety concerns, and to facilitate easier parenting time cooperation, the Child Custody Act allows Michigan judges to put reasonable terms or conditions on parenting time if they are in the children's best interest. The parent requesting the condition needs to demonstrate that it is reasonable and facilitates the “orderly and meaningful exercise of parenting time.”

Common Conditions on Parenting Time

The judge can make any “reasonable condition” appropriate to your particular case. Here are some parenting time conditions that are listed in the statute, or are more common than others:

• Dividing transportation responsibility for the children
• Parenting time exchange locations
• Dividing costs of transporting the children (most often in long-distance cases)
• Limiting third parties present during parenting time (most often because that person is unsafe)
• Preventing either parent from using physical discipline (almost always mutual)
• Requiring alcohol or drug screening before or during parenting time
• Setting specific times for parenting time to start or end
• Requiring children to be ready for the exchange
• Mandating that children receive medication or use corrective lenses during parenting time
• Requiring a parent to attend therapy or support groups (like AA or NA)
• Supervised parenting time (in severe cases)
• Possession or exchange of children's property (i.e. passports, electronic devices)

Notice that these conditions either make parenting time more predictable or safer for children. When deciding to file a motion for parenting time conditions, you will want to connect the condition to one of the legal custody categories whenever you can.

Parenting Time Conditions Prioritize Children's Safety

What you won't generally see are conditions that restrict a parent's ability to be the parent while the children are in his or her care unless they are tied directly to the children's health, safety or education. For example:

• Restrictions on disciplinary strategies are limited to preventing physical discipline or child abuse
• Conditions about routine medical care usually require parents to follow physicians' recommendations
• Changes to child-care (even preschool in some courts) usually require a showing that childcare providers are unsafe
• Requirements that parents get children to school on time often need a showing of truancy and worsening grades

While the Court has the power to enter any reasonable conditions, Judges are not inclined to limit a safe parent's parental rights.

What to Do When the Condition No Longer Makes Sense

Some conditions don't need to remain in place forever. If a parenting time condition is no longer necessary, you can file a motion to modify your custody and parenting time order to change or remove the condition. For example, you could modify the order to remove a condition requiring you to give your child medication he or she is no longer prescribed, or to adjust the parenting time exchange time due to your children's extracurricular schedule. If you and your co-parent agree to the change, you can submit a modified order with both your signatures to be entered by the court, often without a hearing. If you can't agree, you can file a motion and demonstrate that the condition is no longer in the children's best interest.

Get Help Protecting Your Children from a Michigan Family Lawyer

At Bebout, Potere, Cox & Bennion, P.C., we care about you and your family. We help individuals and families in Rochester Hills, Rochester, Troy, Lake Orion, Oxford, Oakland County, Macomb County and throughout Southeast Michigan. We want to help you protect your children during parenting time  by seeking conditions that that keep your children's best interests at heart. Call us at 248-651-4114 or contact us here to speak to an attorney.