Kenly North Carolina Legal Blog

Many parents find that it takes some time to get used to the realities of sharing custody of a child. Whether two parents enjoy fairly equal time with a child or one parent retains most privileges, the rights of each parent are important to respect, and violating these rights repeatedly or severely may result in serious consequences. When a parent's behavior grows from inconvenient or frustrating actions to obstruction, courts may find the parent guilty of parenting time interference.

If found guilty, a parent may lose custody privileges, face a court order to make up lost custody days, or may even face criminal charges in some extreme cases. Many parents choose to address these issues directly by including specific language in their parenting agreement that prohibits such behavior and outlines specific remedies if a parent violates the others rights.

Co-parenting is one of the hardest things to do. Your marriage already broke down, and now you have to work together with your ex-spouse to parent your child. While it may be difficult at first, co-parenting your child is usually the best thing to do in the long run.

When you are co-parenting, your child benefits from you and your ex getting along (or at least appearing that way) and working together. It shows you're committed to making your child's life easier and committed to raising him or her as a team.