Difference between revisions of "Parenting Apart"

A ''parenting plan'' is a written agreement describing how issues involving the care of children will be handled, typically with a long-term view which addresses how visitation and other arrangements should evolve as the children grow up and mature. Parenting plans are most common when the children are very young when their parents separate, say age five or less.

The main reasons why parents might want to make a parenting plan are to address future issues ahead of time and to minimize the likelihood of future conflict, and basic developmental points in the children's life should be taken into consideration:

*The visitation schedule appropriate for a breastfeeding one year old won't be appropriate when the child is weaned.

*The visitation schedule that works for a three year old won't work when the child turns five, enters the school system, and is suddenly tied to a schedule neither of his or her parents control.

*The schedule of a seven year old must accommodate sports and other extracurricular activities as well as homework and other take-home assignments.

*Nine year olds will be starting to go to day camps or overnight camps during the summer.

*The schedule of a twelve year old must take into account his or her social schedule and activities with friends.

In other words, a visitation schedule can't be static, it has to be able to evolve with time. This is precisely what a parenting plan is intended to address.

Parenting plans also typically address guardianship issues and cover how the parents will make decisions about the children's care, medical needs and schooling. Since parenting plans aren't mentioned in the ''[[Divorce Act]]'' or the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', there are no rules about what should and shouldn't be in a parenting plan and it's up to the parents to be as inclusive, exclusive or creative as they want.

Parenting plans can be included in separation agreements or, but not usually, in court orders. (The best you're likely to get in a court order is a statement about guardianship rights and visitation for the present, with a provision requiring a review of those arrangements in a fixed amount of time.) Parenting plans can also stand on their own as a separate document altogether.