Family Matters: What is a Parenting Plan?
By Jake Hornstein, Co-Founder & COO
Published in Paradise News Magazine October 2023
A parenting plan is a document developed and agreed to by the parents of a minor child and approved by the court. Or, if the parents cannot agree on a plan, it will be established by the court.
A parenting plan governs the relationship between the parents regarding the child. It may address issues such as the child's education, health care and emotional well-being, and must include a time-sharing schedule.
To help you and your co-parent get started with writing your parenting plan, be sure these important topics and issues are clearly detailed: Parenting Schedule, Holidays, Special Occasions, School Holidays, Sick Days, Vacation, Travel, Discipline, Health Care, Education, Financial Responsibilities and Parent Communication. It's also important to understand these key terms:
Time-sharing schedule means a timetable that must be included in the parenting plan that specifies the time, including overnights and holidays, that a child will spend with each parent. If developed and agreed to by the parents of a child, it must be approved by the court.
Shared parental responsibility means a court-ordered relationship in which both parents retain full parental rights and responsibilities with respect to their child and l in which both parents confer with each other so that major decisions affecting the welfare of the child will be determined jointly.
Sole parental responsibility means a court-ordered relationship in which one parent makes decisions regarding the minor child. We can help you through this maze.
Our Children Have Rights.Org is a Pinellas County-based 501c3 nonprofit organization that also offers no-cost review of Parenting Plans. Before you submit to a lawyer or sign, let us help you identify any gaps or errors, avoid future disputes and costly mistakes.
Our Children Have Rights.Org does not dispense legal advice; you will need a lawyer to finalize your documents. We help by identifying areas in your documents that can be improved or corrected. It's much harder to change these things after you sign, so get it right the first time and let us help you protect yourself and the best interests of your child.
How it Works: We review with an unbiased and experienced point of view. Submit your draft Parenting P1an or related documents. We will give you our honest feedback via email, video conference or phone call (your choice). We offer complete confidentiality.
Most importantly, if you, or someone you know, needs our assistance, we're here for you. We're on a mission… a mission to protect the rights of children to have access to both responsible and involved parents by providing education, resources, and support services for successful co-parenting.
Why? Because Our Children Have Rights.
