Throughout your divorce proceedings, the New Jersey family court will evaluate the grounds brought forward for your divorce, the evidence presented to support your claims, and your and your spouse’s willingness to negotiate and communicate civilly thus far. This is so they can accurately predict how your relationship will look post-divorce, and thus, what type of parenting plan would work best for your positions and your child’s overall best interests. Without further ado, please follow along to find out how a court comes up with a comprehensive parenting plan and how a proficient Morristown parenting time lawyer at Graves Andrews, LLC can work to ensure your ordered schedule works the best.
What does a court typically include in a parenting plan?
The New Jersey family court will make a parenting plan as detailed as possible to eliminate the possibility of misunderstandings and mistakes down the line. Of course, it will outline the physical and legal custody rights of each parent, but it will also add the following particulars:
- Detailing the regular custody schedule, along with the holiday schedule.
- Restating the child support order that has been enforced and each parent’s financial obligations.
- Providing a method for resolving potential disagreements in the future (i.e., mediation).
- Offering guidelines on how decisions should be made in urgent situations (i.e., medical emergencies).
- Disclosing which third parties have permission to access the child (i.e., grandparents).
- Outlining the consequences of non-compliance with this standing parenting plan.
- Contributing resources for how to make changes to this standing parenting plan (i.e., post-judgment modifications).
Under what circumstances would a court order a parallel parenting plan?
Based on what the New Jersey family court has witnessed thus far, it can accept the reality that you and your soon-to-be former spouse will be unable to co-parent effectively with a standard parenting plan. If so, it may enforce a parallel parenting plan. In a way, this offers you more independence, as you can run your household and make day-to-day decisions for your child without having to run them past their other parent. However, it may be more rigid in the fact that you must abide by strict guidelines to avoid potential conflicts that would emotionally harm your child.
For example, you may be restricted in the topics you can talk about with your former spouse, which is usually exclusive to coordinating logistics for your child’s personal schedule. What’s more, you may be ordered to stick to written communications via texts, emails, or co-parenting apps, rather than face-to-face or over the phone. In addition, you may have to follow a strict drop-off and pick-up schedule for your child, as ambiguity may create confusion, and then frustration and potential quarrels. Lastly, you may be exclusively in charge of your child’s medical decision while your former spouse handles their education, or vice versa.
You should not let the pressure of creating a healthy and manageable parenting plan rest solely on your shoulders. Please allow a talented Morristown family law attorney from Graves Andrews, LLC to assist you throughout this process. We look forward to helping you set up an arrangement. Give us a call today.