If you are divorcing your child’s other parent, your child should be your top priority as you draft your parenting plan. Your parenting plan should cover several topics relating to child custody and parenting time. Here are a few things to include in your parenting plan.
Legal and physical custody of your child
Determining legal and physical custody is essential to creating a parenting plan. Your parenting plan should specify:
- Legal custody: Which parent will be making decisions on behalf your child? Parents may have to make decisions regarding the child’s medical care, schooling, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing. One parent may be the sole decisionmaker, or both parents may share this responsibility.
- Physical custody: Where will the child live and when will the child see each parent? One parent may be the primary custodian, while the other parent is given visitation, or the parents may share custody.
Parenting time
Parenting time refers to the time the non-custodial parent will spend with the child. There are four ways to address parenting time:
- Schedule: Parents agree on a schedule specifying when the child will be with each parent.
- Reasonable: Parents who are able to get along can figure out parenting time on their own, without having a set schedule.
- Supervised: Parent must be supervised by the other parent, another adult, or professional agency while visiting with the child.
- None: No parenting time would be awarded if a parent would cause harm to the child.
What else should my plan include?
Custody and parenting time are the main issues you should include in your parenting plan. However, it is important to go into specifics and address other issues relating to your child, including the following:
- Vacations, holidays, and special occasions
- The process for changing the schedule, if necessary
- How decisions will be made
- Who is responsible for various expenses (e.g., costs of transporting child back and forth)
- How parents will communicate with each other about the child
- How the child will communicate with a parent while they are with the other parent
- Child’s interactions with extended family and family friends