Limiting Child's Abilities

[spokanedriver]

No, my child is 15 and different from the child i took on a trip. Which really has no bearing, unless you were just trying to get an idea of age then i understand.

As far as "legal custodial parent", i am not an attorney which is why I'm posting on a legal forum rather than already knowing the answers. But my child primarily lives with the other parent, and i understood that as a custodial parent situation. Yes, education is 50 50. But are you suggesting that one parent cannot, by themselves, decide against putting our child through driver's ed? I am completely willing to pay an on line course and do the driving during my time, but can one parent alone make the decision where i am not allowed to do that?

And all the posts about a lot of kids not wanting licenses don't matter, as i said before our child does want one and it makes sense for our specific situation with where our child lives with the other parent compared to job possibilities and school

[Harold99]

No, my child is 15 and different from the child i took on a trip. Which really has no bearing, unless you were just trying to get an idea of age then i understand.

As far as "legal custodial parent", i am not an attorney which is why I'm posting on a legal forum rather than already knowing the answers. But my child primarily lives with the other parent, and i understood that as a custodial parent situation. Yes, education is 50 50. But are you suggesting that one parent cannot, by themselves, decide against putting our child through driver's ed? I am completely willing to pay an on line course and do the driving during my time, but can one parent alone make the decision where i am not allowed to do that?

And all the posts about a lot of kids not wanting licenses don't matter, as i said before our child does want one and it makes sense for our specific situation with where our child lives with the other parent compared to job possibilities and school

That's right, I wouldn't listen to them either. I hope you are successful in getting your child a license. Sometimes you have to draw the line with an ex and do it anyway. You definitely do not have to stick around and listen to the wrath. And yes, I know this from experience.

[Taxing Matters]

I am completely willing to pay an on line course and do the driving during my time, but can one parent alone make the decision where i am not allowed to do that?

Your ex can't stop you from providing driver's ed on your time or prevent you from riding along with her for the driving experience the kid needs while on your time. If the state will accept a license application signed by you then your ex can't stop you from doing that either. At the same time, though, that also means you can't make your ex cooperate in getting the kid a license. If the state needs your ex to sign the license because it wants the parent with physical custody to be the one signing the application, then you'll be stuck since your ex is not obligated to sign it just because you want that. This all assumes the current child custody doesn't address it. So if your ex objects to you doing those things on your time, your ex would need to go to court to modify the current orders. Similarly, if you need your ex to sign the application and your ex won't, you'd need to go to court to ask the court to order your ex to do it. No guarantee in either case that the judge would agree with what either of you are asking for.

[pg1067]

As far as "legal custodial parent", i am not an attorney which is why I'm posting on a legal forum rather than already knowing the answers.

That's all well and good, but you do have a copy of your divorce decree/custody order/parenting plan, which is something no one else here has. All you need do is look at the darn thing and pass on the relevant information. It's not that difficult, but you (the person asking for assistance) is making it difficult for others to provide you with the best information possible.

Once you've read your parenting plan, take a look at Chapter 26.09 of the Revised Code of Washington. In particular, read section 26.09.285, which states as follows: "Solely for the purposes of all other state and federal statutes which require a designation or determination of custody, a parenting plan shall designate the parent with whom the child is scheduled to reside a majority of the time as the custodian of the child. However, this designation shall not affect either parent's rights and responsibilities under the parenting plan. In the absence of such a designation, the parent with whom the child is scheduled to reside the majority of the time shall be deemed to be the custodian of the child for the purposes of such federal and state statutes."

As I wrote in my original response, there's nothing your child's other parent can do if you want to pay for an online driver's ed course that your child completes on his/her own or during the child's visitation with you. Same for behind the wheel driver's training. However, the above-quoted section strongly indicates that the other parent will have the final say about the child getting a driver's license. I suggest, however, that you review all of the Chapter 26.09 because I did not, and there may be something else relevant.

And all the posts about a lot of kids not wanting licenses don't matter

I agree but feel compelled to point out that the only reason it has been a topic of discussion is because you claimed that your "child [could not] be a regular person" without a DL. You can't really expect to throw something like that into a post and not expect folks to call you on it.

[spokanedriver]

Possibly in the first time if an internet disagreement, I'll agree that i was wrong and could have responded differently.

But i will thank you for giving the information about a parent not having more rights, simply because of custodial time