In a divorce, the emphasis must be on the interests of the children. Parents who are divorcing are obliged to draw up a parenting plan and to adhere to it. A divorce has major consequences for the parents, but certainly also for the minor children. To prevent the interests of the children from being overshadowed, a parenting plan must be drawn up in the event of a divorce. A plan must be made for the education of the children. The parenting plan is now part of the divorce agreement. The plans made must also be implemented as best as possible by the parents.
What should be included in the parenting plan?
It is up to the parent to put together a good plan. However, care is taken to ensure that a good plan is drawn up. There are minimum requirements for the plan. In any case, agreements must be made about:
- The division of tasks between the parents. This concerns care tasks and parenting tasks
- The division of costs between the two parents
- Parents must discuss important matters about the children among themselves and make decisions about them
- How do the children keep in touch with both parents? Should a visitation arrangement be agreed?
How should a parenting plan be put together?
You can find examples of parenting plans on the internet. You can use this to ensure that all important matters are included in the plan. The parents can also seek help from, for example, a lawyer or a mediator. This must be an independent person who knows how to bring together the interests of the children and the parents.
Do cohabitants who separate also have to draw up a parenting plan?
Yes, if both people have jointly exercised parental authority, they must also draw up a parenting plan.
What is co-parenting?
The former partners can share the care and upbringing equally. In that case there is co-parenting. Both parents then have their children live with them approximately half of the time.
Both parents have the right to visitation
The contact arrangements are a mandatory part of the parenting plan. If the parents cannot reach an agreement together, they can engage a mediator to mediate. If this also fails, the judge would ultimately have to make a ruling. However, this does mean that both ex-partners will have to incur a lot of legal costs. The judge may also decide on certain grounds that one of the parents will not have access arrangements. Here too, the interests of the child come first.
How should parents divide the tasks?
The plan must include how the care and upbringing tasks will be divided. This should also include how parents keep each other informed of developments and concerns. The parents can later hold each other to the agreements set out in the plan.
The interests of the child come first, but a parenting plan is also a clear overview of agreements between the parents. This plan prevents ambiguities and therefore problems to which the children can again become victims.