Kelly Clarkson’s Divorce Brings Family Court Battles Over Vaccinating Kids Against COVID-19 Into Spotlight

Contributing author: Dylan Mitchell

In March, former American Idol winner turned mega-star and talk show host Kelly Clarkson settled her bitter divorce from Brandon Blackstock. While most details of the agreement, like the parties’ property division, Clarkson’s substantial one-time equalization payment, and monthly alimony to her ex, are de rigueur for a celebrity divorce, one stipulation stands out—that the couple’s two children be vaccinated against COVID-19, based upon the recommendations of the children’s pediatrician.

For two years now, families have been weathering the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic. In its early stages, COVID-19 forced parents to reckon with differing views about how to protect their children and other family members from the virus, leading to disagreements over whether children would wear masks, attend school, and visit family and friends. With the advent of several major COVID-19 vaccines becoming approved for adults last year, parents were confronted with new decisions as to their own vaccination. For divorced couples sharing custody, the vaccination status of each parent became a hot-button issue. In a case decided in New York County Supreme Court in October 2021, Justice Matthew F. Cooper ruled that a father’s in-person parental access (visitation rights) with his three-year-old child would be suspended until the father got vaccinated or submitted to weekly testing.

Now that a COVID-19 vaccine has been approved via Emergency Use Authorization for children as young as five years old, a new front of vaccination decisions has reached a boiling point and begun spilling over into family court. The high-profile divorce between Clarkson and Blackstock illustrates what has become a contentious and pressing issue for families nationwide. The agreement (or disagreement) over whether to have children vaccinated is a matter that many parents are working through today.

For the celebrity couple, the decision to vaccinate their two children, as they eventually agreed upon, is described in the court documents as being related to their out-of-state visits to see their father In Montana. As part of the agreement, the couple’s children will fly privately to visit their father until they are fully vaccinated, and Clarkson agreed to make a $50,000 “reimbursement” payment to her ex for the children’s private air travel. Due to the timeliness of the vaccine issue and their newly finalized agreement, Clarkson and Blackstock are one of the rare couples to have this decision laid out so clearly. In situations where a pro-vaccine parent has sole custody, that parent generally holds the legal jurisdiction to vaccinate their child. In situations where disagreeing parents are still married, or custody is shared, co-parents do not have such clearly defined direction and must return to court to determine the appropriate course of action.

In certain states, such as New York, the courts have overwhelmingly sided with the parent in favor of vaccination thus far, determining that vaccination is in the best interest of the child. Recent decisions illustrate that in the eyes of family court, the potential imminent risk and harm of COVID-19 along with the Emergency Use Authorization of the vaccine in children ages five and up outweigh any arguments to wait and see what further research demonstrates on efficacy and short and long-term impacts of the vaccine. Similar outcomes have emerged in states such as California and New Jersey. But with new variants of COVID-19 cropping up, and continuously evolving public health measures related to prevention and safety, we are likely to see a protracted wave of complex family court cases regarding which parent holds the power to make the decision whether children are vaccinated against COVID-19. The myriad of varying laws by state could mean that across the country, results will vary.

Celebrities are often divorce trendsetters (remember Gwyneth Paltrow’s “Conscious Uncoupling”?), and Clarkson and Blackstock may set an example for other co-parents looking to reach an up-front agreement that is in their child’s best interest. A-list stars experience the same challenges as any layperson during a divorce, but the issues are hyper-magnified and play out in the public sphere. Observing how celebrities successfully swim the rough waters of divorce helps illustrate how others can do the same.

Dylan Mitchell, Partner in the New York City office of Blank Rome, handles complex matrimonial disputes, custody, and visitation matters for high-net-worth and high-profile clients. He also serves as a mediator. With over two decades of family law experience, he delivers favorable results using a compassionate and understanding approach.