What Makes for a Successful Parenting Plan?

Co-parenting may be uncharted territory for both you and your spouse. For the sake of your small child, you should not enter into this ill-prepared. Rather, it is in your best interest to work together with your spouse, which is good practice for your future co-parenting, to create a comprehensive parenting plan. Without further ado, please read on to discover what should be part of a successful parenting plan and how one of the seasoned Clarksville child custody lawyers at Fendley and Birch can help you make one.

What should be included in a successful parenting plan?

Essentially, a parenting plan should lay out the terms and conditions of raising your small child. You and your soon-to-be former spouse must reference and abide by this plan when co-parenting. Below are non-negotiable instructions that should be settled in your plan:

• The parent(s) who get the responsibility of paying for the child’s daycare, education, healthcare, extracurriculars, etc.
• The parent(s) who gets to make major decisions about the child’s education, healthcare, and religion.
• The parent(s) who gets to have the child primarily live in their residence.
• The parenting schedule for weekends, school breaks, holidays, family vacations, etc.
• The procedure for exchanging the child when there is a shift in parenting time.
• The procedure for communicating when there is a decision to be made or an emergency to resolve.
• The procedure for wanting to introduce new partners into the child’s life.
• The general guidelines for what parenting style and disciplinary tactics to use with the child.
• The general daily routine that the child should follow in each of the parent’s households.

Can I make a parenting plan without court intervention?

As you can see for yourself, there is a lot of ground to cover in your parenting plan. Still, you and your soon-to-be former spouse may attempt to make a comprehensive one outside of court. This is if you wish to successfully pursue a noncontested divorce. In the end, though, you may still need to get it approved by the Tennessee family court to make it legally binding and enforceable.

You must understand that the court holds the right to deny or modify your proposed parenting plan if they believe it not to be in the best interest of your child. Or, they may believe it fails to address a key parenting issue.

The reason for this may be that you and your spouse could not agree on the issue and left it out to figure out should it ever arise. However, this is not a valid resolution. Unfortunately, if you and your spouse cannot see eye to eye on even one of the smallest terms, your divorce may turn contested and the court may decide on your parenting plan on your behalves.

Before entering these proceedings, you should have already hired one of the competent Clarksville family lawyers to represent you. So, if you have not done so already, please contact Fendley and Birch today.