Many people that are just starting their child custody battle have questions about parenting plans. When I went through this, I was completely lost and as a result, I lost valuable time with my children. If your state requires a parenting plan then you will need to draft one and submit it as soon as possible.
What is a parenting plan? A parenting plan describes how decisions will be made and when the child will be with each parent. It also describes the type of custody each parent has, physical custody or legal custody.
The parenting plan should include time sharing of the children. When will the children be with each parent including birthdays, holidays, weekends and weekday visits. It is important to be specific. State what time visitation will begin and what time visitation will end.
The parenting plan should also describe transportation arrangements. Who is responsible for dropping the children off and picking them up. This can be especially important when the parents live a distance apart. I remember spending several hours on the road on the holidays driving to pick my kids up and taking them back.
Parenting plans are part of the child custody process.
A very important thing to keep in mind when making your parenting plan is how well you and the child’s other parent are getting along. If this is an all out child custody war then you will need to be as specific and as detailed as possible. If you are getting along well then you can be a bit less precise in your wording. I would caution that it is still better to be safe then sorry when it comes to details.
Some important factors to consider are the age and maturity of the child. An infant has different needs and tolerance then a seven year old. Teenagers have different needs then toddlers.
Most family law courts and experts in child custody cases agree that the best parenting plan is one that both parents develop together with the best interest of the children involved. These plans take in consideration that the best parent is both parents.
Most people that are involved in a child custody dispute have never seen a parenting plan nor a court ordered visitation plan. Click here for to see what a court ordered visitation plan looks like. It might give you ideas on how to craft your parenting plan.
Until next time, may your find the courage and motivation and resources to fight and win your child custody battle.
