During a Wisconsin divorce action or child custody case, the court will likely order both parents to attend a court approved parenting class. The court-ordered parenting class covers topics such as family dynamics, parental separation’s impact on a child’s development, and what parents can do to help their child through the separation.
The statute, Wis. Stat. 767.401, gives courts the authority to order any parties to participate in parental education classes if the court determines such a class would be appropriate and in the best interest of the child.
If a court hasn’t already told you that you need to take a parenting class, you may or may not be ordered to take one. The two factors that determine whether you’ll need to take one are what county you are filing in and whether your court case involves children.
In Wisconsin, all counties require parents who come to court arguing about their children to take a parenting class. Some counties will allow you to skip the coparenting class if you have taken an approved class within the past four years.
In some counties, simply getting divorced while having minor children is sufficient for the court to order that you participate in a parenting class. In other counties, only parents who appear in front of a court without a fully agreed upon parenting plan must participate in a parenting class. Similarly, for divorce, parents who file a marital settlement agreement and joint parenting plan may be able to avoid this requirement.
Here are a few examples specific to Wisconsin counties:
“Children in Between” is the course that some courts require specifically. This course takes four hours. Some counties require that you take their specific court ordered parenting class. Others allow you to take any one of a number of court approved parenting classes.
Generally, if parents in a divorce are arguing about the children, the court will require them to take a parenting class. Each county has its own policy. Some counties require all parents who are getting divorced to participate in a parental education class, even if the parties aren’t fighting about the kids.
Other counties only require it if the parties are being sent to mediation or having a guardian ad litem appointed. Parties are only sent to mediation or have a guardian ad litem appointed if they appear in front of the court and are not in agreement as to an aspect of the care of their children. Some counties require it if the case has been pending for 90 days or longer.
The court orders parents to take parenting classes because they trust it has positive outcomes for the children. Generally, the goal of the court is to do things in the best interest of the child.
When it comes to parent classes, the intended outcomes are:
Co-parenting is often difficult for a variety of reasons, not least because it involves regular interactions with the person you recently separated from. That being said, co-parenting difficulties can come from genuine and sincere disagreements on the best course of action for their child. If you keep this in mind, it should offer some perspective, knowing the other person also wants what they think is best for the child.
However, much more often, co-parenting is difficult because one or both parents is “being a pain.” “Being a pain” can mean anything from one parent being emotional immature to one parenting wanting to get revenge to one parent having a substance abuse problem. When co-parenting difficulties turn into harm being done emotionally or physically to the child, that’s when it is most important to get legal help.
