Essential elements of a parenting plan

On Behalf of | Nov 19, 2019 | Child Custody |

As a parent, the choice to seek a divorce is a difficult one, since it will have a significant impact on your children’s lives. When parents work together toward building and maintaining a cooperative and constructive relationship, children can usually adjust to the divorce more quickly and with fewer long-term problems. Co-parenting is rarely easy, but it is possible.

Child custody can be resolved through parental negotiations. Connecticut family courts encourage parents to adopt a thoughtful and creative parenting plan that outlines how their children will be raised following separation or divorce.

Parenting plan checklist

A parenting plan outlines the day-to-day and big-picture issues involved with raising children after getting divorced. A well-written parenting plan can go a long way in creating a stable and loving environment for children.  To get started writing your parenting plan, consider the following essential elements:

  • Parenting time. Developing a joint parenting schedule is a crucial step that can help your children settle into their new routines. The plan should specify living arrangements and how to divide the children’s time between separate households. It should also determine who is responsible for transportation when the custody changes hands, including the location and time of the exchange.
  • Holidays and school breaks. Holidays and vacations often conflict with parenting plans, which is it vital to figure out how to handle birthdays, special holidays, family events and school vacations. Some parents decide to alternate holidays to ensure fairness for everyone in the family.
  • Expenses Devising a plan for how child-related costs will be covered can be a challenge. You may decide that specific expenses be split 50/50, while others may require a different formula. Parents should also plan for the big costs like braces, cars and education.

The goal of any parenting plan is that it reflects the interests and needs of the children. They create solutions to common child-rearing disagreements and establish a predictable and consistent schedule for the entire family.

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