What are the essential elements in a Louisville child custody plan? What actions and steps can you take to protect your interests and goals for child custody and visitation in your divorce? What do you need to know about Kentucky’s standard of the “best interests of the child(ren)?”
Your child custody and visitation plan provides specific details about how you and a former spouse are going to share the responsibilities of continuing to parent your child(ren) during and after your divorce. An effective parenting plan will usually need to address many issues, including, but not limited to:
- What is the specific schedule of time in each parent’s home for each child? How will the child’s schedule be shared by each parent?
- How will the child maintain consistent communications with the non-resident parent during their time apart?
- How will each child move between the households of each parent throughout the plan? Will there be a “transfer” from one parent to the other, or can the child take the bus home from school to each of their parents’ homes?
- How will the parents sharing custody of their child(ren) make decisions regarding wellness and healthcare visits, education, religious practices, and even extra-curricular activities in each child’s life?
- How will costs be allocated between the parents as they relate to food, clothing, healthcare, and even issues like the expense of a private school or extra-curricular activities?
While the above considerations form the essential elements in a Louisville child custody plan, there are many other issues to take into consideration. How will co-parents share important events such as a child’s birthday, holidays, vacations, or breaks in the school schedule? When parents are sharing the responsibility of co-parenting more than one child, the plan must usually ensure the children are together as often as possible, and during the most important events in each child’s life. There is always going to be some give-and-take as the co-parents balance issues such as illness, work-life balance, study time, and even coaching.
Here in Louisville, and throughout the State of Kentucky, one of the essential elements in a Louisville child custody plan relates to travel restrictions and required notifications when a parent intends to take one or more of the children out of the area, or across state, national, or international borders. In most cases, any travel plans require the advance written authorization of the Court before departure. This usually also includes the provision of advance notice of an intent to travel with the child(ren) to the other co-parent, even when the time in the plan has been allocated for vacation. Unfortunately, history has shown it is vital to protect against any attempt to relocate and move away with the kid(s) without the advance authorization of the Court, as well as the prevention of international abductions.
Why is it so important to develop a thorough, enforceable child custody and visitation plan? Advance planning tends to help the actual experience of shared parenting during and after a divorce. If the parties work together to develop the plan, it is much more likely that each parent will abide by the agreement in the future. This reduces the likelihood of post-decree disputes and litigation. When the parties work together, they have “skin in the game.” This also provides ample opportunity to custom-tailor the agreement to reflect the unique rhythms of each child’s life and the lives of the parents who will share the responsibility to raise them.
If the parties cannot reach a complete agreement on any issue or aspect associated with the parenting plan, the Judge (who is essentially a stranger to each child and their parents) will impose a schedule and rules upon the parties. It is almost always best for our attorneys to work with and guide our clients to help them calmly and reasonably reach an agreement upon the essential elements in a Louisville child custody plan. There are also issues of principle that require us to stand up for our clients and argue on their behalf to help accomplish their unique goals and objectives.
What information can help you work through the process to develop the best child custody and visitation plan for your unique circumstances? Your experienced Dodd & Dodd child custody and visitation attorney provides sound counsel at each step in the process, as well as proven strategies to help you protect your interests and accomplish your goals. We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and the legal industry and contact Dodd & Dodd or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.
