What Can I Include in a Parenting Plan in My Ohio Divorce?

 Posted on May 01, 2020 in Divorce

The divorce process includes a number of different areas that must be addressed before your marriage can be legally dissolved. This includes the division of assets, spousal support (alimony) determinations, and perhaps most importantly, drafting a parenting plan for your children. Building a parenting plan and creating “rules” for you and your former spouse can feel uncomfortable, and you may need to resolve a variety of disagreements. It is likely that you each have slightly different parenting styles and differing opinions on how to handle situations that come up involving your children. These discrepancies can be easier to discuss and manage as a married couple, but they may not be so easy to address and resolve once the divorce papers are signed. During your divorce, you will need to formulate a legal parenting plan that addresses how you and your co-parent will deal with child-related situations, work together to raise your children, and resolve any disagreements that may arise.

Specific Issues to Address

A typical parenting plan will include larger details, such as the parenting time (visitation) schedule and each parent’s rights and responsibilities for making decisions about how children will be raised, but it will also hammer out minor details. Below are some of the issues that the Ohio family court system allows you to address to make sure that your parenting plan fits your family’s needs:

1. Who is the custodial parent? - The custodial parent is the one who your child will live with most of the time, and the non-custodial parent will have visitation as defined in your parenting schedule. Even when parents share legal custody of children and have equal or near-equal amounts of parenting time, one parent will typically be named the custodial parent for school registration purposes. Your parenting plan can detail how you will share or divide custody.

2. How will transportation work? - When it comes time to transfer children between parent's homes, each of you may have different ideas about whose responsibility it is to drop the kids off or pick them up. This may seem like a minor detail, but it can lead to heated arguments, and in some cases, a parent may even be worried about their and their children's safety. If one parent does not have time to drop the children off before work, or if the other is unable to pick them up at his or her scheduled days and times, this can lead to ongoing conflicts. By deciding which parent will drop off the children or pick them up at the beginning and end of each parent's scheduled parenting time, you can avoid difficulties and ensure that you do not lose precious time with your kids.

3. Do both parents have unlimited access? - In most cases, parents will have access to their child’s private information, including all medical information and academic records until the child turns 18. Even if one parent will have legal custody of a child and be the custodial parent, the other parent will be allowed to access the child's records, unless there are specific reasons why the court believes it would be necessary to limit this access. When creating a parenting plan, parents can make sure they will share the necessary information with each other and agree to work together to ensure their children's needs will be met.

Call a Medina Divorce Lawyer

Divorce can be a difficult experience. Even if the decision to end your marriage was mutual, it can still bring up buried emotions and feelings. This is especially true for divorcing couples with children. It may be difficult to agree on how you will continue to care for your kids under two separate roofs. At The Law Office of Whitney K.S. Miller, LLC, we have extensive experience working with families throughout Ohio to help them build the parenting plan that is best for them. Every family has unique needs, and our attorneys consider each situation carefully to ensure that your children’s best interests are the top priority. If you have kids and are considering divorce, call our Medina County parenting plan attorneys at 330-725-4114 for help. We offer free consultations in most cases.

Source:
https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/JCS/CFC/DRForms/Form18.pdf