Countersign Parenting Plan/Child Custody Agreement Made Easy

E signature parenting planchild custody agreement

you and the other parent will have to submit a plan for the care of your children to the judge this is called the parenting plan or a custody and visitation plan with this plan you will set out how you and the other parent and tend to handle your children's schedule and how you will make decisions related to the children's welfare the judge has to approve the plan as being in the children's best interest before issuing a custody order it is best that both parents are able to work together to write the plan to carry it out and to raise your children it's important to remember that the court will not permit you to cut the other parent out of your children's lives you should take enough time to think through all aspects of your children's lives as you prepare the plan in writing a parenting plan you'll consider many details about how to care for your children now that they will have two homes you will need to consider both legal custody and physical custody legal custody means the responsibility to make major life decisions for a child such as where the child goes to school which doctor the child sees and any religious upbringing there are two types of legal custody joint legal custody and soul legal custody with joint legal custody the parents share the right to make major life decisions for the child they decide together where the child will go to school discuss activities the child will do like sports or playing an instrument and make medical treatment decisions together if you and the other parent can communicate effectively about your children you may ask for joint legal custody in the parenting plan if possible the judge will try to order joint legal custody sometimes they're good reasons to give only one parent legal custody that is called sole legal custody with sole legal custody one person is given the legal right to make those major life decisions if the parents don't agree on a decision the parent will sole legal custody makes the final decision so legal custody is appropriate if the parents cannot communicate at all without having a fight one parent is absent due to work or another reason or one parent has challenges which cause decision-making to be very difficult such as untreated substance abuse or mental health issues or domestic violence a judge might decide that one parent has legal custody just because the one parent has legal custody it does not mean that the parent who does not have legal custody doesn't have rights the non-custodial parent in other words the parent who does not have legal custody still has a right to have full access to the children's medical records school records and to be able to speak to teachers and participate in parent-teacher conferences physical custody means where the children live at a particular time you and the other parent need to decide when the children will be with each parent and what the schedule and conditions will be during that time in other words your parenting schedule will determine the physical custody arrangement the two most common arrangements are called shared physical custody and primary physical custody with shared custody the children live with each parent a significant period of time during the year with primary physical custody the children live with one parent significantly more days per year than with the other the number of overnights spent with each parent will also affect how much child support is owed the parents have to recognize that they are separating but their children want to parents need two parents and the plan needs to address a way for the children to have the benefits for both sides of the family from both parents even after the parents are long separated it takes time and thoughtfulness to drop the parenting schedule you'll need to be realistic about both parents schedules and the children's needs here are some of the things you will want to consider where will your children live what will be the schedule with each parent what will their schedule be during the school year what will their schedule be during the summer and school vacation periods how will you handle child care how will you handle medical and dental care how will you handle transportation how will you handle holidays like birthdays how will the children stay in touch when they're with the other parent who will apply for the Children's Permanent Fund dividends or inks of benefits how will the parents handle taking the children as tax exemptions on federal tax returns how will you include grandparents and other extended family members how will you communicate with the other parent how will you handle future disagreements about the children how will you adjust and change the parenting plan as your children grow older in a parenting plan the thing I would like to see most is parents cooperating and co-parenting and coming up with a realistic plan that's going to work for both parents as well as as we are here talking about children most importantly work for the child so the best parenting plans would be an agreement where the parents decide that they can effectively co-parent make any adjustments they're necessary on an ongoing basis that's what I would like to see if you and the other parent have difficulty in working together to write a parenting plan you may want to try working with a counselor or mediator or another third party you'll submit your plan to the judge he or she will review it and may ask for changes before accepting it and making it part of the final custody order a divorce is a immediate crisis in your life it's an unpleasant thing for all of us in a child's life it's also a big event but it is up to the parents and the court will try to help but it's ultimately up to the parents to try to do what they can to benefit the child we all hope that a child will have a lifelong relationship with each parent and with the family of each parent and will not become estranged from either parent or have lifelong damage done to them because of the way the divorce occurred if it's inevitable we need to find a way to get through it in a way that's the least harmful to the child and allows the child to know that he or she has two parents who still love him or her you