What is Parental Plan and Why do I need it?

A parenting plan  is a documented agreement between the parents after divorce or separation about raising their children that may include the specifics on when the child will spend time with each parent, how the child communicates with each parent, how parents communicate with each other, and how decisions about the children will be  made. The plan can be incorporated into a Court order if the parties wish to do so. 

If you believe that ongoing communication with the other parent will be difficult the parties could use an app  like Our Family Wizard or similar or reducing communication to email. 

It is perfectly acceptable to have a temporary parenting plan once the divorce or separation has started and finalize it later, with provisions for  modifications. 

Most parenting plans are built on co-parenting- having similar routines and rules in each household, allowing the child to bring her/his possessions like a favorite toy from one parent to the other regardless of which parent purchased the toy, etc. 

Examples of shared time between Mother and Father include  2-2-3-2-2-3 or 5-5-2-2 or 3-4-4-3 arrangements.

If the parents prefer not to communicate with each other, dropping off the child at school by one parent and picking up the child from school by the other one may work. It is important to keep the routine consistent and have the same schedule every week. If the parent is not able to personally pick up or drop off the child that should be discussed with the other parent ahead of time. 

Some parents find it easy to plan for holidays and vacations with the alternation of even and odd years.  For example, a common agreement for Christmas break is  for one parent to have the child from Christmas eve to Christmas morning and the other will have the child from Christmas morning and later alternating between even and odd years.   A spring break (depending on how long it is) could be either split or alternated.