The Importance of Parenting Plans
In order to ensure that their children's needs always take precedence over parents' emotions, many divorced parents create parenting plans that outline their child custody rights and responsibilities.
January 05, 2013
The Importance of Parenting PlansWhen a couple is splitting up, emotions run high and it is easy to get wrapped up in the heat of the moment. But when it comes to what is best for a child, cooler heads should always prevail. In order to ensure that their children's needs always take precedence over parents' emotions, many divorced parents create parenting plans that outline their child custody rights and responsibilities.
What Should Be Included in a Parenting Plan?
-Custody issues: One of the most important aspects of a parenting plan is outlining who will get physical custody of the child, and who will have legal custody. The agreement should also address visitation, including which parent will spend which holidays with the child and how vacations will be handled.
-Health care: Parenting plans generally include information about who will pay for the child's health care expenses and health insurance.
-Transportation: When a child is being taken back and forth between two homes, the logistics can often get lost in the shuffle. Parenting agreements are a way to make clear arrangements for the child's transportation, outlining who will take the child back and forth for visits and when.
-Relocation: Although this is an issue that may never come up, since people often get transferred to other locations for their jobs, it is best to consider the options of how to handle co-parenting should this happen. If a parent wishes to relocate the child, he or she should be certain to check the child custody order first.
-Day-to-day decision making: Parenting plans can also cover decisions that affect children's daily lives, such as the school they will attend and even what extracurricular activities they will be involved in.
How to Move Forward With a Parenting Plan
In order to make a parenting plan official, one parent must file a petition with the court, and the other parent must file paperwork to respond to it. If the respondent does not file the appropriate paperwork, he or she may lose their say in these important issues by default. An experienced family law attorney can help parents timely create, file, and respond to these petitions.
Once the court approves a parenting plan, both parents are responsible for following it. If one parent violates the parenting plan in any way, they may face legal consequences.
Get Help With Parenting Plans
Do you need help drafting a parenting plan? A knowledgeable family law attorney can help you and your child's other parent create an agreement that is in the best interest of your child. In addition, having an experienced lawyer on your side can help you with issues such as visitation, child support and child custody.
Article provided by Bostwick & Price P.C.
Visit us at http://www.bostwickprice.com