Rights of First Refusal in Custody

Good idea or nightmare waiting to happen? Some couples have included provisions in their custody agreement that the non-custodial parent has a right of first refusal to exercise custody of the children when the custodial parent needs to leave the children with a sitter. The benefit is that the children get to see the other parent more than otherwise provided for in the couple's standard custody arrangement and, generally, the cost of a babysitter is avoided.

The difficult part is trying to figure out when such a right of refusal should kick in and how do you enforce it? This would be a personal preference and depend on your own schedules, the distance between the parents, the children's ages, etc. Make sure you consider that to some extent the non-custodial parent may become privy to far more of the custodial parent's social life than desirable (by either party!). If you agree to a right of first refusal provision for each time you must leave the children with a sitter for, say, longer than three (3) hours, be prepared to have to call the non-custodial parent almost each and every time that you go out on a date or socialize with friends. If you agree to a right of first refusal for anytime you leave the children overnight, you may effectively cut out the children's opportunity to stay with Grandma for the night. One parent's experience may be of interest to you. I do not know this parent and did not have any involvement with the case, but thought that his story may be somewhat typical of what can go wrong and why significant thought should go into the wording of any Agreement. The advice offered by the posters is their thoughts only and my directing you to the page is not intended to be considered legal advice from me.

Military Deployment Doesn't Mean You Lose Custody of Your Children

It is just amazing that it requires a law to make sure that common sense is used...

Bill puts child custody battles on hold for deployed soldiers By RICHARD FELLINGER Evening Sun Harrisburg Bureau Article Launched: 10/15/2008 11:05:20 AM EDT Pennsylvania courts will be precluded from rewriting custody arrangements for the children of deployed soldiers under a new state law. Gov. Ed Rendell has signed the bill sponsored by Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon. Folmer said the law is needed to ensure that soldiers don't suffer the extra stress of a custody case while they are overseas. It also prevents one parent from taking advantage of a soldier's deployment to gain custody. The bill allows temporary custody orders to be implemented while a soldier is deployed, but it puts the original orders back in place when the soldier returns home.

Passports And Child Support Collection

Passports are fast becoming a valuable tool in child support enforcement. In 1999, the Department of State began denying passports to persons who were delinquent in child support payments. According to the Associated Press states reported collecting $22.5 million in 2007, thanks to the program. Now with passports necessary for travel to Mexico and soon Canada, it is likely that the program will be responsible for collecting even more delinquent child support.

Medical Benefits, COBRA, and Divorce

Beware of failing to notify your employer regarding the entry of a divorce decree! Upon divorce, ex-spouses can no longer maintain each other under employer paid health insurance policies except through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reform Act (COBRA). By electing COBRA an ex-spouse can generally maintain coverage for up to thirty-six (36) months. Some parties choose to negotiate payment of COBRA benefits as part of their marital settlement agreement. In Trustees of the AFTRA Health Fund v. Biondi the court found the former Husband liable for over $100,000 in claims paid on behalf of his former Wife after the Husband failed to notify the employer regarding the divorce.