When parents separate or divorce, decisions about their children can sometimes become another source of disagreement. One question that may arise is whether one parent can enrol a child in a more expensive school without consulting the other.
Family law advocate Cosmas Mureti says that while a parent can sue for custody and maintenance, challenging the other parent simply because they have taken the child to a more expensive school is different.
‘It’s an exercise in futility. A partner can argue that they will pay the fees equivalent to the previous school and the other partner to pay the extra amount. One parent cannot make such a decision without the input of the other.’
The reason is that parental responsibility is shared between both parents.
‘No parent is superior to the other. If co-parenting, a parent must consult the other parent and agree on the school,’ he says.
But what happens when one parent earns considerably more than the other and can comfortably afford the higher fees?
‘The best interest of the child is paramount on all issues affecting the child. If the school is beyond the parent’s means, the court should not force him or her to carry a load that she or he cannot carry,’ notes Mr Mureti.
Where the parents have a parental responsibility agreement, the parties are bound by what they agreed, although circumstances can change and the agreement can be amended.
Where circumstances have changed, the parents can change a child from one school to the other.
‘Where there was agreement on contribution by each parent, and one of the parties decides to transfer the child to a more expensive school, this party is liable to shoulder or pay the extra cost,’ he notes.
This means that a parent who unilaterally moves a child to a more expensive school cannot expect the other parent to take on the additional financial burden.
‘It is also possible for the court to order the parent who has transferred the child to a more expensive school to pay for the extra fees,’ he says, adding that the court will also consider the circumstances prevailing before the parties moved to court.