A parenting plan is written to work out practical parenting issues during the divorce process. It will clarify and address arrangements you need to make regarding the care of your child(ren). This plan is in the best interest of the child, so parenting issues can be resolved amicably, outside of court.
Most parenting plans include details regarding custody, visitation, and finances. A detailed parenting plan might also address medical rights, religion, vacations, education, and other, similar matters.
To make a parenting plan that works for you and your situation you should:
If you have multiple children requiring different circumstances, you can make separate parenting plans for each of them. In the parenting plan, you will document each child’s name, age, and where they’ll be living. Other items you should discuss include:
Determine where the child will stay and when. Most parents make a four-week timetable filled with where the child sleeps each night. It can also indicate when a child spends the day with one parent but sleeps at the other parent’s home. If your partner does not follow the child placement plan, there are steps to enforce the child placement plan.
Schedules can change as the child grows up, especially when they become involved in new activities in or outside of school. One parent can also make temporary schedule arrangements for work, family, or vacation. You’ll need to specify how far in advance a proposed change must be communicated between you and your spouse.
This covers child support, child care, taxes, college payments, and other smaller expenses such as mobile phones, subscriptions, and after-school activities.
Discuss how you will communicate about your child after the separation. You may choose to meet or schedule phone calls on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis to discuss any important information the other parent needs to know.
You’ll both probably want a say on what school your child attends. The parenting plan can also cover important school matters and how those will be handled by each parent.
You will want to have rights during emergency situations, especially when you need to be notified if your child has to go to the hospital. You should also communicate with each other about your child’s medication needs.
Grandparents have their own rights when it comes to their grandchildren. Other family members can be involved in the parenting plan so your child maintains contact with their extended family.
If you or your ex-spouse begin dating again, you’ll want to discuss how to introduce a new partner without causing your child emotional distress.
There may be some things you disagree on as a parent, but you can’t control how the other party will raise your child once separated. If there are religious arrangements or methods of discipline you agree on, they should be written in the parenting plan.
No, the outcomes of every case are specific to the family. A schedule that works for one family may not work for another family. Parents’ work schedules, ages of the children, the distance between the parent’s homes, and the specific needs of the children all impact the court’s decision process. Some placement schedules are more commonly used by families than others, but there is no set preferred plan.
If you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse can’t agree on the parenting plan, you can try mediation to solve matters amicably. If mediation doesn’t work, both parties can submit their parenting plans in court. This means that the court will decide on these issues for you, and you will likely be involved in some kind of co-parenting plan. Learn more about Wisconsin divorce laws that may affect child custody.
During the divorce process, parents are generally ordered to attend a court-approved parenting class (Wis. Stats. § 767.401). The class addresses issues such as child development, family dynamics, how divorce affects a child’s development and the steps parents can take to ease the separation’s stress on the child or children. The court will order the parents to take a class only if the court believes it is in the best interest of the child.
Going through a divorce can become more difficult when you have children. Following a separation or divorce, parents and children will be adjusting to new custody and decision-making arrangements. Still, the classes may create hardship for the parents – Wisconsin courts recognize the challenge and will consider if parenting classes are in the best interest of the child or children. However, a court-ordered parenting class is of great benefit to each parent. It is something that will help prepare the parent for a new type of parenting while gaining valuable information from experts in the field.
Contact Divergent Family Law if you’re interested in divorcing amicably or require mediation to create an effective parenting plan.
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