Which Time Sharing Schedule Is Best For Your Family?

Some parts of divorce are easier to adjust to than others, even if you have children.  As hard as it can be to co-parent with your ex and see her take that same passive aggressive tone with them that she used to take with you during your marriage, you must admit that it is nice to know that, on certain days of the month, your kids will be with your ex, so you can sleep as late as you choose and listen to the uncensored versions of your favorite songs.  Even if you naturally incline toward living in the moment, co-parenting requires a lot of planning.  You even have to put your plans in writing and have a judge sign off on them.  A well written parenting plan can help you keep the peace with your ex-spouse while enjoying a strong and stable relationship with your children; in the best cases, you may not need to modify it at all until the obligations end when your children reach adulthood.  For help building a parenting plan that is just right for your family’s needs, contact a Birmingham child custody lawyer.

Every Family’s Schedule Is Unique

The Alabama Law Institute has published many different parenting plan templates designed for children of various ages and parents who live various distances from each other.  For children under the age of four, if the parents live close to each other, then one scenario has the children spending four hours with Dad three times per week, but spending the night at Mom’s house every night except Saturday.  For older children, a template has the children spending Sunday and Monday night with Mom, Tuesday and Wednesday night with Dad, and then staying with Mom from the time school lets out on Thursday until Sunday afternoon.

For families where one parent cannot accommodate many overnight visits with the children, either because of the parent’s job or because of the lack of space in the parent’s apartment, the parenting plan can have the kids spending Saturday morning until Saturday evening with Dad, but otherwise being with Mom except for one overnight with Dad per month.  Additional sample parenting plans are available for families where the parents live more than 60 miles away from each other.

Sample parenting plans are just a starting point.  You can customize your time sharing schedule however you choose.  Once you finalize a parenting plan, though, it is important to follow it closely.  Failure to do so could lead to court battles about parenting, and about child support, which is calculated based on the number of days per month the children spend with each parent according to the parenting plan.

Contact Peeples Law About Choosing the Right Parenting Plan

A Birmingham family law attorney can help you finalize a parenting plan that will give your children the stability they need and enable you to have a good relationship with them while preventing unnecessary conflict with your ex-spouse.  Contact Peeples Law today to schedule a consultation.

Source:

alabamaparentingplans.org/select-a-schedule-type/