My ex-wife and I share joint legal custody of our child. She fights with me about every decision we make regarding our daughter's education, religious upbringing and medical care. Do I have to keep her in the loop?

Sharing joint legal custody with an ex-partner can be difficult, but you would be violating the court's order if you didn't involve your ex-wife in major decisions affecting your child. If you do stop including your ex in these decisions, she could take you to court. A judge may order both of you to work it out, or the judge might give sole legal custody to just one of you -- a result that could prove harmful to all involved.

For everyone's sake, it's usually best to reach an agreement without going to court. To do this, try to understand why your ex is fighting with you. For example, if you have physical custody, maybe she is envious of the time you spend with your daughter and is trying to assert her rights. In that case, perhaps a more generous visitation schedule would help. If you need help improving your communication, you could also consider seeing a counselor or a mediator.

My kids live with my ex-wife. I usually send my child support check on time. But I'm thinking of withholding it as a bargaining chip so I can see my kids more often. Is this a good idea?

Definitely not. Visitation and child support are separate legal matters, and courts frown on parents trying to use money as leverage for visitation, or vice versa. If you're not happy with your visitation schedule, first try calmly discussing this with your ex. If she insists on sticking with the court-ordered dates, you might consider asking a judge to increase the amount of visitation. You might even want to think about asking for joint physical custody if you and your ex live close to one another. But beware: Courts won't order this unless it's clear that the children won't suffer unnecessarily and the parents can work as a team.