Parents who break up but share minor children together are required to submit a parenting plan in court before their separation or divorce is finalized. This document helps outline how you and your ex-spouse plan to navigate through your shared duties and decision-making authority as parents to your children.
To help you gain insight into the process, here are three commonly asked questions about Washington’s parenting plan:
How can I create my parenting plan?
You can draft your own parenting time schedule or co-create one with your ex. After you create your initial draft, you can seek the help of a family law court facilitator, a community legal clinic or a family law attorney to assist with the review of legal requirements and other key details in your suggested parenting plan.
What should be included in my parenting plan?
To help facilitate a smooth transition into your children’s new daily routines, your parenting plan must include answers to the following key factors:
- Which parent will have primary residential custody?
- How much time will each parent spend with the children?
- How will each parent contribute to legal decisions concerning the children’s upbringing?
- How will the parents manage future disagreements about the plan without a court interval?
- Will there be any restrictions for the other (non-custodial) parent?
Once you and your ex reach an agreement over your parenting plan’s terms, you must both sign it in the presence of your lawyers or a third-party mediator. After submission in court, a judge will determine whether your plan was created with your children’s best interests in mind.
What if my ex does not follow our parenting plan order?
Since a parenting plan is a court-issued order, both parents must follow and honor the terms of the plan or risk getting themselves held in contempt of court. This legal penalty refers to disobeying parent’s interference with the court process.
Depending on the type of violation made by the disobeying parent, the court may award fines or amend the existing order to reduce their parenting time schedule.
For your children, you can do anything
As you move forward with your separation or divorce, it is important for both you and your ex to remain civil in your parental obligations and work to establish a smooth transition for your children’s new lives and day-to-day activities.