Tips For Creating A Workable Co-Parenting Plan | Allan Brandon Tise PLLC, Attorney at Law

A co-parenting plan is necessary after a divorce if children are involved. A workable co-parenting plan creates the blueprints for how you'll navigate parental duties when you and your ex no longer live together. However, you typically create a co-parenting plan in the immediate aftermath of separation or divorce, maybe before you've had a chance to process the changes in your life. Below are tips to help you navigate creating a co-parenting plan that will work long-term.

In your head, you know that parenting is not the space for airing out the grievances that led you and your spouse to separate in the first place. However, as you're creating the co-parenting plan, you may be governed by a sense of what's fair — or not fair — concerning the circumstances of your divorce. You should think of it this way — you and your ex are now business partners. Your business is to raise your children with your values and with minimal disruption in their lives. Be prepared to make concessions in the plan if that's what's in the best interest of your "business."

When you consider the tasks involved in raising a child, you may feel daunted trying to create a plan to cover those tasks. The Spruce recommends using worksheets to create the guidelines and expectations for the co-parenting plan. The site includes example worksheets, but you can also ask your lawyer for a co-parenting plan template.

Where is your child going to live? That's the first and most important question you must answer. The court may designate one parent to have custody, but the more common form is joint custody, meaning both parents share in the legal responsibilities and care of the children. You'll have a lot of considerations for how to share custody with your ex. The age of the children, geography, and school schedules will be big determinants. Generally, when geography permits, co-parents often split the week with the children. If one parent moves away, though, you'll have to figure out how to split time with the children without disrupting school.

When you divorce, your finances naturally change. Your divorce may include alimony or child support payments, or you may be raising children at least part of the time on a single salary. It's not necessary to discuss finances with your children, but do include a budget in your co-parenting plan for expenses.

When you have children, emergencies come up. Hopefully, they're not very serious. However, if your child gets sick at school, which parent has to leave work? Not only that, you'll want to designate which parent stays home with the sick child. Along those lines, you'll want to decide who provides insurance for the children.

In that vein, circumstances can change. You can't plan for every contingency because that can include anything from relocating for a job to getting remarried. Instead of trying to cover the details, make an overarching plan for renegotiating in the face of big changes.

Nothing can derail your business-like approach faster than the emotionally-charged situation of the holidays. However, when considering holiday plans and other celebrations, you'll need to keep a cool head. When planning for the holidays or other special occasions, you might choose to split the day in half or to alternate holidays. A common co-parenting approach is duel celebration. Essentially, the children get to celebrate each holiday or special occasion in full twice — once with each parent. Divorce is a big change for you. However, you can help minimize how much of a change your divorce is for your children by developing a workable co-parenting plan. Seek advice from the family law experts at Allan Brandon Tise PLLC , Attorney at Law for help with your plan.