Types

• There are several types of parental rights, depending on custody arrangements. In addition to visitation, telephone and email rights, both parents have the right to the child's medical and school records. Both parents have the right to pick up the child after school and to drop the child off at school during their access periods. If there is an emergency medical issue, the non-custodial parent has the right to know that the child is being taken to the hospital, and has the right to be at the hospital. The rights of the child to see each parent or to have each parent be there for emergencies and school functions trump the feelings of the parents. All rights of the parents should be stipulated in an agreement or included in an order of the court, even in an amicable divorce.
  
  

Child Support

• If the party paying child support ceases paying the child support, he still has the right to visit with the child. The mother (assuming she has primary custody) has no right to stop visitation because the father (assuming there is a child support order in place) stops paying child support. If the father does not resume child support payments, including arrearages, after his financial position improves, the mother must turn to the courts (by filing a motion for contempt) for enforcement of the child support clause in agreement of the final judgment.
  
  

Elective Medical Care

• In most cases, both parties pay uncovered medical bills. The bill is usually divided so that each parent pays half, or each parent pays a percentage based on the percentages used in the child support guidelines. If a visit or an elective surgery is not required, the non-requesting parent has the right to deny elective treatment, since he must pay for a portion of that medical bill, as long as the treatment decision does not compromise the child's health. Examples of elective medical care might include dental whitening, a third opinion on a needed procedure or contacts instead of glasses. If the parties prefer a 50-50 division, it should be included in a settlement agreement or an order.
  
  

Vacation

• Each parent has the right to spend part of the child's school vacations with the child. This is usually worked into the schedule, but in some cases, one parent wants to fight the other parent over keeping the child for more than a few days at a time. It is common that during the summer, each parent keeps the child for two weeks at a time, so that the parents can take a vacation with the child (i.e. take the child to an amusement park in a different state, the beach, etc.).
  
  

Pick-up and Drop-off Times

• A big bone of contention is pick-up and drop-off times. Often one parent is late, making the other parent wait. This cuts into the other parent's time. Often, if parents live far from each other, they set a pick-up and drop-off place halfway between their homes. If one parent is late, the other parent must wait and it cuts into the other parent's visitation time.