Question:

I share joint-legal custody of my son with my ex, and I was recently informed he had been diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed medication.

I do not believe medication is necessary, and since I was not consulted, what are my options?

Answer:

In Pennsylvania, it is possible to petition the court for emergency interim relief if you feel like the child is being placed in a bad or potentially dangerous situation.

The judge may fail to provide relief, may provide relief on an interim basis or may set the matter for a hearing or evidentiary proceeding.

That being said, in my experience, a judge is not going to want to act as a doctor or overrule a doctor that may have prescribed your son a specific medication. You may want to consider petitioning the court with a request that you be able to have your son evaluated by a doctor of your own choosing.

If you are able to secure a separate evaluation where the doctor examines your son and would object to the prescribed medication, you might want to consider either petitioning for a modification of the custody so that you can be the parent that gets to make the legal custody decisions or more narrowly to make the decisions when it comes to this specific issue of medication or medical decisions.

Remember, I am unable to provide you with anything more than tips on your situation, so please consult a domestic litigation attorney in your area to obtain specific advice as to the laws in your state and how they impact your potential case.

To arrange an initial consultation to discuss divorce rights for men with a Cordell & Cordell attorney, including Pennsylvania divorce lawyer Anna Ciardi, contact Cordell & Cordell.