Generally, when responsibility for a child is shared with another person, you and that individual are forever intertwined as parenting partners for the length of the child‘s life. When parents separate, the change in family structure can have profound emotional effects on everyone, but children are particularly vulnerable to feelings of anxiety, fear, and isolation. While parents also worry about how changes in the amount of time together, and standard of living will affect both of you.
While planning for what works today, there are many elements to consider, yet be flexible enough to meet the evolving needs of your child. As co-parents, the most important thing to remember is your shared responsibility to keep your child out of conflict. In Mediation, parents can build the blueprint to ensure their children’s unique needs remain their priority. The terms and conditions will be captured in a Parenting Plan agreement, to be included in a Divorce Order.
Christine equips co-parents with tools to communicate through their differences of today and to future-proof how to resolve co-parenting conflicts in the future amicably.
What’s in the Parenting Plan Agreement?
- The Decision-Making Responsibility
- Education
- Health Care
- Religious/ Cultural Practice
- Extra Ordinary Expenses- unique to each family’s needs.
- Parenting Time
- Daily routines between homes
- Holidays, Special Events, Breaks from school, Travel
- Passport, Health Card documents
- Care Provider (Extended Family, Third-Party Relations)
- Jurisdictional Moves
- Child Support
- Table Support Amount (food, shelter, clothing)
- Section 7 Expenses distribution
- Payor and Payee identification
- Payment Schedule and Annual Review
Together we can identify what is important, how it can be achieved, and how to move forward.