What Should My Parenting Plan Include?
Whether you are going through a divorce and share minor children with your spouse, or you have minor children with a partner from whom you are separating, you will need to think about child custody and parenting time (formally called “visitation”). In California, child custody consists of legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody involves important decision-making for your child, such as where your child will attend school, how and where your child will receive health care, what medical treatments your child will receive, mental health treatment, and more. Physical custody concerns which parent the child lives with and involves your child’s day-to-day care. The parent who does not have physical custody will have parenting time with the child or children. Parents can have sole or joint legal custody, and sole or joint physical custody. The written document that clarifies which parent has sole custody, whether the parents have joint custody, whether one parent has sole legal custody but both parents share joint physical custody, or which parent, if any, has parenting time, is known as a parenting plan.
What should your parenting plan include, and who is permitted to write or shape the parenting plan? Our family lawyers in San Jose can explain in more detail.
Understanding the Parenting Plan in California
Under California law, a parenting plan is a document that provides detailed information about how parents will share time with their children and make important decisions for and about their children. As soon as parents separate, a parenting plan is necessary. Sometimes a parenting plan is described as a child custody and visitation agreement.
When parents can mutually agree to the details of a parenting plan that is in the best interests of their child or children, they can submit it to the court, and the court can finalize the parenting plan to make it an enforceable court order. If the parents cannot mutually agree, one parent will have to file a Request for Order, also known as a motion, to have the motion heard by the court and there will be a child custody hearing in which the judge will order specifics of a parenting plan. In either circumstance, as soon as a judge finalizes a parenting plan, it becomes a legally enforceable court order.
How to Determine What Goes Into Your Parenting Plan
In California, parents can work together (and/or with their respective attorneys) to create a parenting plan that is in the best interests of their children. The parenting plan should include detailed information about the following:
- Time-sharing, which should include a detailed schedule for the time that the child or children will spend with each of the parents, including specific information about weekdays and weekends, holidays and school vacations, locations for the exchange, times for pickups, drop-offs, and exchanges, and transportation to and from the other parent; and
- Decision-making, including detailed information about how the parents will make decisions about the child’s health care, religious activities and attendance at religious institutions, enrollment and continuation of extracurricular activities such as sports or camps, travel or trips, and jobs for older children who are old enough to be employed.
The more detailed and comprehensive the parenting plan, the less likely there are to be disputes between the parents regarding their respective timeshare as both parents will have the parenting plan to review, default to, and understand for any situations that arise. It provides clarity to both parents, requires both parents to be on the same page, and ensures that both parents have a meeting of the minds when it comes to their child(ren).
Contact a San Jose Family Law Attorney Today for Assistance with Your Parenting Plan and Child Custody in California
Do you have questions about your parenting plan, or do you need assistance with components of child custody and your parenting plan? Our experienced San Jose family law attorneys at Foster Hsu, LLP can answer any questions you have today and can begin working with you on any legal matters pertaining to your child custody case, whether it is part of your divorce or a separate legal process. Contact our firm today for assistance with your parenting plan and any other questions or issues pertaining to child custody in California.
Source:
codes.findlaw.com/ca/family-code/fam-sect-3040/
