If you are considering getting divorced or separated and have children, you need to familiarize yourself with a parenting plan. A parenting plan describes how decisions concerning your child will be made - decisions such as determining when your child will be with each parent. Additionally, it involves the legal custody determination, a time-sharing schedule, holiday and vacation schedules and many other agreements about the care of and responsibility for your children. In a litigation context, once the parents and the judge sign off on the parenting plan, it becomes a court order.
Prior to a parenting plan being discussed, a determination of child custody will be made. In California, there are two types of child custody: legal and physical. When a parent has legal custody, the parent makes the health, education and welfare determinations about his/her children. Physical custody considers with whom the children are going to spend significant time with and live with. The most common type of custody is Joint Physical and Legal custody, which means that both parents share living arrangements with their children, and both make the essential decisions
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This plan ensures that both the parents and the children will know what to expect about who they are going to see, when they will see them, and for how long. This parenting plan also includes decisions about where your children will be on each of the holidays, family celebrations, and most importantly school breaks. Other important considerations are how childcare will be determined and what will happen in the event that childcare is not available. Any type of decision you can think of, from who will take your child to the doctor, or who will attend sports games, and all the transportation in between needs to be mapped out to account for the known events and strategies for the unexpected
Child relocation laws and best practices in the United States vary from state to state. Child custody in Arizona is defined as “legal decision-making” for the child and visitation is known as “parenting time”. The term “child custody” is no longer used, effective January 1, 2013. The court can order one or both parties to have legal decision-making authority for the child(ren) and consider many factors, falling under A.R.S. 25-403. In the case of joint legal decision-making authority, both parents must work together to make decisions regarding the child. If one parent is granted sole legal decision-making authority, they make decisions about the child without consenting the other parent as long as it
“For parents who are having great difficulty sharing parenting responsibilities without becoming embroiled in conflict, legal and mental health professionals may help to create detailed parenting plans that limit parents’ interactions with each other and structure transitions with their children at a neutral site.”
This involves the agency developing interventions and plans which enhance and ensure the child’s safety. This also involves the agency engaging the family in the plans and services that may include counseling, substance abuse treatment, mental health services, parent training. For children to be returned, all of the services listed in the plan are needed to be successfully completed. Child Welfare laws are based on the premise that parents will successfully complete services if they want to parent their
The purpose of this paper was to give some insight into the vicious battles that take place over child custody. It is important to mention that raising children is difficult even with two parents, now when there is only one parent the difficultly increases by leaps and bounds. The idea of joint custody seems to sound like a good solution however, Smith (2003) stated
Joint Legal Custody is the most common and is described as that both parents have the rights to make major decisions for the child. This is includes education, religion, and health care. This is also called Co-parenting. The set back to this arrangement is that both parents will not be able to agree on certain decisions that need to be
The plan is then reviewed by the court. For most children, the primary permanency plan is reunification with their birth parents. According to federal law, states must make “reasonable efforts” to provide birth parents with the services and supports they need to regain custody of their children. However, there are exceptions to this requirement. States are not required to pursue reunification under certain conditions. In these circumstances, alternative permanency options such as adoption or legal guardianship are the goal for these
The Child Permanency Plan court orders that parents participate in their require services 15 of the most recent 22 months unless there is an exception (decided on by the court). If not children when possible are placed with suitable family members and/or adoptive parents for safety and permanency.
Today, the subject about children custody is commonly discussed about. Children are often left to the hands of those who are thought to be “better.” A child’s environment and the care he/she receives is a major point in deciding where the custody of the child land. Many parents lose their children due to their “inability” to raise their child. A good amount of kids are torn away from their parent’s love and affection due to the parent’s financial status or other devastating reasons.
Jane and jack were not happy with their marriage and decided to get divorce. They decided to share legal and physical custody of their three kids which they think is the best for kids. “After a recent meta-analytic of thirty-three studies of custody, one researcher reported that children in joint physical or joint legal custody were better adjusted than children in sole custody” (C&B 201). Joint custody gives kids change to see the both parents and it also gives both parents chance to be involved with their kids’ lives. Both Jane and Jake knew “continued conflict between parents is one of the causes in children’s divorce problems” and they wanted their kids to adjust the divorce quickly and to do that they knew they had to be cooperative and get along well.
When deciding on custody for your child, the arrangements can be for either legal custody or physical custody.
If you have a job that allows you to work a certain amount of days on and a certain amount off, for example, 3 days on and 4 days off, you may be able to work out a schedule so that you can have equal share of your children, allowing you to have your children on your days off. The courts would rather children be with their parents or family then with outside caregivers and if you have a schedule like this it may pay to highlight the fact that you are able to take the children without interruption for that period of time. This is especially true if the other parent works a regular schedule or is not home much with the
Additionally, we conclude that pertinent factors (i.e. decreased parenting time) were not considered resulting in inaccurate findings. When considering a modification of parenting time, the court must consider the following factors: relationship between parent/s and child, interaction between the child and parent/s and others who could significantly affect the child’s best interest, child’s adjustment to home, school and community, wishes of the child (when appropriate), and the mental and physical health of all involved. According to Arizona law, unless evidence is provided to the contrary, it is generally in the best interests of the child to have “substantial, frequent, meaningful, and continuing parenting time with both parents.” No such evidence was presented. There was no question as to the fitness of either
The Court will apply a presumption that it is in the best interests of the child for the child's parents to have equal shared parental responsibility for the child . Unless you think it is not in the best interest of the children and can provide reasons for this belief.
"shared parenting" is a controversial topic in family law. It generally refers to the presumption that children of divorced or separated parents should spend an equal (or almost equal) amount of time with each parent. The concept has largely been promoted by fathers' organisations that contend that a child's life is enhanced if both parents continue to be significantly involved in the child's life following separation or divorce.
In sole custody, a single parent provides shelter and makes all important decisions for the child. In joint legal custody, the child lives with a single parent but decisions are agreed upon by both. Finally, in joint physical custody the child lives with each parent for equal periods of time and important decisions may be made by either one, or both parents (Furstenberg 32).