Raise Your Child Peacefully Through A Legally Binding Parenting Plan
Protect your right to pass on your values and morals to your children, even as you raise them with their other parent.
JC Law will champion your wishes in and out of court to ensure that the parenting plan is fair, balanced, and ready for a family court to sign off on.
What Is A ‘Parenting Plan?’ What Do They Have To Do With Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and DC Divorce Decrees?
A parenting plan is simply an agreement you create with your spouse or partner about how you plan to co-parent your children after the divorce or separation. It is one of the most important documents in any divorce or separation. It can mean the difference between co-parenting that works and co-parenting that doesn’t.
A parenting plan is very specific and involves setting up a complete schedule for you and your children.
The plan should be very comprehensive, especially if the children are smaller, and include:
- Schooling
- Medical issues
- Extracurricular activities such as sports and other club endeavors
- Potential college or career training
All these things need to be thought of and discussed in detail. In addition, a parenting plan governs specific parenting responsibilities, such as:
- How visitation will be handled
- Overnights
- Who takes a child to the doctor
Just about every situation that can (and will!) possibly arise while raising your child will be accounted for in your parenting plan.
Family lawyers often negotiate parenting plans as part of regular divorce proceedings if there are underage children involved. Such plans can be included in a separation of property agreement or simply be part of the divorce decree.
Why Hire Our Law Firm?
The parenting plan is one of the most important documents in any divorce or separation. It can mean the difference between co-parenting that works and co-parenting that doesn’t. It can help both of you focus on the best interests of your child—which isn’t always easy when you’re getting divorced. To speak directly with a family law attorney, call (888) JCLaw-10 or email us for a free consultation.
What Are Common Problems With Parenting Plans As Part Of Divorce?
A parenting agreement can help you focus on the best interests of the child, which isn’t always easy when you’re in the middle of a divorce or separation battle.
As for the plan itself, the biggest problem people have is that they focus on the immediate here and now about what is happening in their children’s lives. A good parenting plan must have room to grow because inevitably, children’s activities and lives will change.
In the end, a parenting plan is only as good as how well the parties abide by it. The same goes for your spouse or partner.
If you work together and reach a pre-court settlement, chances are that it will work for you both (and your child), and the judge can simply sign off on it. In those cases, the parenting plan often proves to work well for many years after the divorce.
If, however, there is a significant conflict during your divorce, and you cannot agree with your spouse about major issues, the power to craft a parenting plan is in the judge’s hands. A lawyer can help advocate your side and work to persuade the judge, but the parenting plan may not work in the long run for you, your ex-spouse, or your child. In those cases, you may end up back in court to modify the parenting plan.
In other words, if you have a very contentious relationship with the other spouse, then it’s natural to hope that hard feelings or issues can be put aside to properly parent. However, that is not always the case, even if you both previously agreed to the plan.
If you find yourself in a situation where your soon-to-be ex-spouse is being completely unreasonable and trying to take advantage, then you need a lawyer who is extremely skilled at fine-tuning the details.
Additionally, your family lawyer should know when to be aggressive and when to simply facilitate a resolution.
You can always take advantage of JC Law’s free initial consultation to see how one of our family attorneys might handle your case—and whether they think the parenting plan will be a good call.
“[My lawyer] helped me to ensure that my son’s well-being and health was the top priority and the results of the case proved that.”
Give Us a Call
Having been in practice since 1992, we’ve seen how the parenting plan has evolved over the years, and we can help you craft a meaningful agreement that works to protect your rights as a parent. Call us at (888) JCLaw-10 or send us an email for a free evaluation of your case.
