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My Child Needs Therapy; Can I Sign Them Up Without Asking My Ex?

When our children are having difficulties, as parents we want to jump in and help. With emotional or behavioral concerns, the thought can be to have your child see a therapist or counselor. When parents are married, that process is fairly easy with one parent bringing the child in to see a therapist; but when parents are divorced or share joint legal custody, the process is more involved.

In Missouri, if parents have joint legal custody, they have to agree on any legal decision for a child, which includes medical care and therapy. And just because one parent thinks a child may need therapy, it doesn’t mean the other parent will agree. Having input from a third party like a school counselor or pediatrician can be helpful, but without an agreement of the parents or some emergency court order, one parent cannot take a child to a therapist on their own.

For this or other family law concerns, please reach out to one of the family law attorneys at Sandberg Phoenix.

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