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What Is A Parenting Plan?

A parenting plan is a detailed document that lays out how custody will be shared between parents. It should be detailed enough to account for foreseeable issues, and flexible enough to work with the realities of everyday life.

At the Law Offices of Maribeth Blessing, LLC, we help clients develop parenting plans that put their children’s interests first. Our lawyers truly believe that when the children’s needs are top-of-mind, the best parenting plans are developed.

What Goes Into A Parenting Plan?

Parenting plans are detailed schedules that lay out, in clear terms, how two individuals will parent together. They cover things like how decisions regarding the children will be made — for example, the child’s diet, religion, medical care, education and school activities — and whether these decisions will be made jointly or by one parent alone. If decisions will be made together, the plan will also lay out the process to be used to make decisions together, and how dispute will be resolved.

The plan also contains the physical custody and/or visitation schedule, laying out which nights the child will spend with each parent, as well as the pickup/dropoff times and locations. This portion of the plan is extremely detailed, with considerations being made for holidays and school breaks, and encourages both parents to attend school events and extracurricular activities. In addition, the plan lays out how children may contact the other parent, for example, how a child may communicate with dad when he/she is with mom and vice versa.

Parenting plans also lay rules regarding how temporary changes to the schedule will be made. For example, if mom is stuck late at work, will dad pick the children up from school/day care? Providing a framework for small changes like this allows parents to work together to accommodate day-to-day life.

Finding Solutions That Work For Your Entire Family

When people feel as if their relationships with their children are in jeopardy, they often become defensive, which can lead to litigation. A lengthy courtroom battle is not in anyone’s interests – especially minor children.

At our firm, we believe there is a better way. Attorney Maribeth Blessing encourages her clients to use collaborative law or mediation to resolve disputes regarding parenting time. These methods allow parents to work together to develop parenting plans that are truly in their children’s best interests.

However, we also know that mediation and collaborative law will not work for everyone. When necessary, we will go to court and advocate zealously on behalf of our clients.

Learn More About Parenting Plans

For more information about parenting plans, or to discuss your custody needs in detail, contact our firm. Call 215-392-0849 or 866-603-8691. We are located in Rockledge and serve clients throughout Montgomery, Philadelphia and Bucks counties.