Child custody is often a critical topic in Georgia divorce proceedings. That is because many people elect to divorce while their children are minors and under their care. When parents divorce, they must ensure that their kids will have provided for and supported once their relationship is over.
In Georgia, parents create parenting plans to establish the rules they will follow regarding the custodial needs of their children. Parenting plans can be crafted to meeting the specific needs of children; in the end, parenting plans and custody arrangements should serve the best interests of the children who are governed by them. Legal help from family law attorneys can help parents with the specifics of their unique parenting plans, and this post should not be used as legal guidance.
What to include in a parenting plan
Parenting plans are important documents that give parents rights and responsibilities over their kids during and after their divorces. Some of the topics that should be included in parenting plans are:
- Who has legal custody of the child(ren)?
- Who has physical custody of the child(ren)?
- How physical custody will be divided, including details on where kids will spend birthdays and holidays?
- What access the parents will have to the children’s medical and educational records?
Parenting plans are the blueprints that parents use to protect their relationships with their kids and their co-parents.
When parenting plans should change
Any reader who has a child knows that the needs and expectations of a single child can vary with time and age. As such, parenting plans can be modified when there is cause to do so. Changes in work, lifestyle, and other major upheavals may require review by the courts and modifications to existing parenting plans and court orders. Family law attorneys are resources for parents facing these and other challenges.