Co-parenting agreements: step by step.

This article has been written by Steve Wright and provided by Chicago Family Rights.

When going through divorce, there is a lot of paperwork to do, financial challenges to overcome and court cases to battle through.

Among this, one of the critical decisions you will be making is how both you and your ex-spouse will collectively raise your children.

Although there are several options to do this, coming up with a co-parenting agreement is the best choice for a well-structured co-parenting plan – as advised by divorce experts.

What is a co-parenting agreement? And how can you create one for your parenting needs?

This article shares more information about co-parenting agreements and how you can make one for your parenting needs.

So, let’s kick things off with a simple definition of what a co-parenting agreement is.

What is a Co-Parenting Agreement?

A co-parenting agreement is a written document, outlining how the parents or custodians of a child will raise the child once they have finalized their divorce. It includes rules, goals and plans regarding the child’s upbringing. In a typical co-parenting plan, the following things will be stipulated:

Custody Agreement
Diet and nutrition
Education
Child support
Parenting time
Health care
Transportation
Visitation
Religion

A co-parenting agreement allows parents to clearly define how their relationship as a family will work. It also helps you raise your child in a co-operative and structured environment after your divorce.

Who should consider getting a co-parenting agreement?

A co-parenting agreement works best for the following groups :

Divorced families
Separated families
Parents who don’t live together and were never married
Parents in crisis i.e. Mental, financial, emotional.
Teenage parents

How can you create a good co-parenting agreement?

The best way to create a co-parenting agreement is by working with an attorney.

A licensed legal professional will make the whole process a lot easier and help you avoid making major mistakes most co-parents make when creating their own agreement.

However, if you cannot afford one, you can collaborate with your ex-partner and come up with your own personalized co-parenting agreement.

If you decide to make your own agreement, the following pointers will give you an idea of what to include in your own personalized co-parenting agreement.

1. A schedule showing the parenting time for each parent

A parenting time schedule shows the time each parent should spend with the child.

When crafting your own schedule, make sure to include an everyday schedule showing where the child will be spending their weekdays, weekends and holidays. This helps in dividing the parenting time equally among both parents.

2. The decision-making responsibility

A good agreement should explain how you and your ex-partner will be making life decisions for your child. For example, how you will decide on your child’s medical care, education, extra-curricular activities, and any other day-to-day upbringing decisions.

In your agreement you can have the following:

Which parent has the final say when making major life decisions about the child’s life; or,
Whether both parents should collaborate in making major decisions about the child’s life; and
How disputes regarding the child’s upbringing will be solved.

3. Financial information and expenses

Most US states require parents to file separate papers on child support before you finalize your divorce.

When making a co-parenting agreement, it is wise to include a copy of your child support papers in the agreement to ensure that you have all your plans in one place for easy reference.

You might also need to include any additional expenses that the child support plan did not cover to avoid future disputes. The extra expenses can include music lessons, summer camps, sports equipment, braces, cell phone bills and car insurance for older kids .

4. Parenting rules and provisions

Having additional parenting agreement rules will make your relationship and co-parenting experience better. When co-parenting consider including the following rules:

How child exchanges will be done;
The process you will be using to resolve disputes about your agreement;
The method to be followed when making changes to the agreement; and
Communication methods between you and your ex-partner.

Also include any other additional rules that you think will make your co-parenting experience smoother.

Making your agreement official

If you want your co-parenting agreement to be recognized and legally enforceable, you need to make it official by filing the agreement with your local court.

Making your agreement official ensures that both of you are legally obligated to follow the agreement and the court can intervene when the agreement is violated.

As you can see, there is a lot to think through when coming up with a co-parenting agreement.

Try not to be rigid when creating the agreement and be prepared to adapt as your children grow and their needs change. This will make your parenting life easier, happier and more balanced for the entire family.

Please note: This article is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Make sure to follow any laws on divorce, child care or co-parenting in your state or country.

This article has been written by Steve Wright and provided by Chicago Family Rights. They work closely with Aiello Harris as content specialists helping them build their online presence through friendly, engaging and shareable web content.

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