Oakland divorce is especially hard on the children of a broken home. It thus becomes imperative for parents to act responsibly and put their own issues aside, while finding a good solution for the child. Courts may often guide parents to formulate a parenting plan, visitation schedule or custodial agreement to formulate all terms of child custody.
Under the California law, formulating a written parenting plan is encouraged. The plan may include time-sharing arrangements for joint custody or visitations of the non-custodial parent. The parenting plan may also include rights of the parents in decision-making. Herein, one or both parents may give the rights and responsibilities regarding making decisions on behalf of their minor children for medical and education issues, among others. Under California law, the parenting plan can become a court order, after being signed by the parents and the judge and are filed within the court.
Various factors may be considered before formulating a parenting plan. The plan must meet the child’s basic needs. One must make certain the child’s health and well-being are properly addressed. The child’s age and personality may also become a determining factor. The parenting plan must be able to give the child a sense of stability and security. Professionals are often consulted to make sure the parenting plan is detailed and enforced with utmost care.
Physical custody of the child must be expressed in the parenting plan. Physical custody, in addition to joint or shared custodial arrangement, must make room for the child’s custody to the non-custodial parent for holidays, weekends etc. Legal custody of the child is another necessary issue to be addressed in the plan. Under legal custody, one parent is given the right to make all decisions regarding education, religion, health and other issues relating to the child. To make an effective parenting plan, one must keep room for flexibility to meet the needs of the child.
Source: Courts.CA.gov, “Parenting Plans,” accessed on Aug. 15, 2014
Source: Courts.CA.gov, “Parenting Plans,” accessed on Aug. 15, 2014
