Sharing custody of your child may not necessarily have been your first choice, but it may serve you and many other parents across Texas well to know that joint-custody arrangements can benefit your son or daughter in numerous ways. Often, the hardest part of sharing custody comes with working out a plan that accommodates both parents, but once you have a plan and stick to it, you may find that your entire co-parenting situation improves.
Per Psychology Today, one way divorced parents can hash out their difference and come to important agreements regarding raising their shared child is to work through their issues through the creation of a parenting plan. A parenting plan dictates certain specifics that you and your child’s other parent agree to abide by when it comes to raising that child and maintaining communications between you two about that child.
Just about anything relating to your child or your co-parenting relationship is fair game when it comes to what to include in your parenting plan. However, most co-parenting plans share some similar elements in common. For example, your parenting plan may outline your custody agreement, setting arrangements for how you plan to handle future birthdays, holidays and so on.
You may, too, address who will finance certain parts of the child’s life, such as school or extracurricular activities. Your plan may, too, address when both parents need to confer with one another, which you may agree to do when, say, the child gets hurt, or when one of you needs to make an important decision on your child’s behalf.
This copy about what you can include in a parenting plan is meant for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice.