A Parenting Plan Template is not something divorcing or separating couples immediately think of when their relationship ends. Parents who are in relationships are more likely to have a will in place, a plan for what should happen to their house, their car or their pets or how much of their assets will belong to the other should things go wrong. No one ever plans for anything concerning what should happen should the partnership between parents be dissolved in divorce. It’s amazing when one actually stops to think about it; that the most important things resulting from a partnership are hardly ever thought of – children. Even when parents are busy fighting their battles in divorce courts they spend less time thinking of the monumental changes that the children have to suddenly adjust to. The idea of a parenting plan only comes along later, when the focus is shifted to custody issues. This is unfortunate as such a plan drafted along the lines of a Parenting Plan Template can bring a degree of stability to not only the child’s life, but also to both parents lives. Not having a parenting plan means no-one really has any idea of the “ground rules” and everything ends up being made up as they go along.
When parents decide to live separate lives and there are children still binding them, it should be important for parents to map out how the children are to be raised once one parent is living outside of the family unit. A good Parenting Plan Template will help determine who, between them, takes responsibility for the various tasks needed when bringing up their children. The changes that follow when children find themselves in a divorce situation become less traumatic. Having a parenting plan template to follow, also helps parents in custody cases to demonstrate to family court judge how important the needs of the children are to both parents.
A parenting plan is a written agreement that sets out the rules and structures of ongoing care of children, constructed with the sensitivity to the holistic needs children have. It will take into account the strengths and weaknesses that each party has and how they impact the ability of each parent to fulfil the duties laid out. If for any reason a parent dies and the grandparents feel that they should petition the courts for custody, such a document can stand in a court of law as something that the deceased leaves behind so that those who are left to take care of their children know what the parent’s road map had been.
A Parenting Plan template is a consensus model between parents who may require the support and the counsel of others. This may include child specialists, psychologists, legal experts and other experts as might be needed in the development of the children. If there are issues of domestic violence or addictions, parents should be prepared to deal with these as they arise. There is usually a dominant party in divorce cases, and they are the ones who are more likely to win the case. A parenting template will seek to offer a counter balance so that these agreements do not lean precariously in a way that may not be the best interests for the children.
A Parenting Plan template lays out authority and responsibilities. It also sets out rules for the care of the children by estranged parents. For example a parent may assume the authority of deciding on the sort of school the children are to be placed and the other be responsible for ensuring that school fees are paid.
A Parenting Plan Template will address the following:
- Time spent by each parent with the children
- Allocation of time to be spent by vacation times, holiday and special occasions
- Transportation arrangement when children have to commute between parents
- Educational and health care decisions
- Extracurricular activities
- Involvement of partners and family
- Name changes
- Religion
- Parental communication
- How decisions affecting the children are to be made and resolution processes
- Rules on mobility and/or travel
- Consideration for extraordinary problems like mental health, abuse or geographical distance
Parents find out too late into the custody case that the term “reasonable visitation” can be easily misused. That is why it is important to source a professional parenting plan template to make sure that every term used is fully understood and that all eventualities of the child’s welfare are taken into account and planned for between both parents. Parents may also find that it is a condition of the courts that a Parenting Plan must be submitted where there are children resulting for the relationship.