The start of a new year traditionally comes with a new year resolution, goals, or planning for what’s to come. For parents who are currently going through a custody dispute or have gone through one in the past, January is a great time to review your schedule and determine if changes need to be made and the emotional/physical impact the current schedule will have not only on you, your co-parenting partner but your children as well.
The following things to consider will make the new year easier for you, but also ensure that the parenting plan is best set up to act in your children’s best interests.
Consider Changes in your and your former partner’s life:
Has there been a considerable change in your life or your former partner’s life? Do you need to adjust the parenting schedule to accommodate a new work schedule that may require travel in either one of your lives? A new work schedule or a new job may very well modify the physical time you can spend with your child or even your former spouse. Who will care for your child/children while traveling? Does this require your former partner or you to make changes in your custody schedule to accommodate the other’s work schedule? Is someone planning an out-of-state or even an out-of-county move? Now, at the beginning of the year is the perfect time to assess the changes that occurred in everyone’s life throughout the new year and determine whether an agreement to modify the parenting schedule can be made or a case needs to be filed with the Court.
How has your child’s age affected the plan:
Often in Family Court your parenting schedule is based on your children’s ages and whether or not they are in traditional school, meaning the exchange location will often occur at school pick up or drop off and will be based on the school week. As little people, your children will start to grow into their own, they need time to devote to sports or arts as they make this transition in life. If sports conflict with the other parent’s schedule, changes to the schedule may need to occur. Put the needs of your children first and find ways to accommodate them with your former spouse, especially if the sport they love has been practiced on both parent’s time, or they are starting school and will be away from the house for a longer than normal time.
Pay attention to your children’s needs, both physically and mentally, and the changes that come with getting older, and determine what changes in the parenting schedule need to occur ahead of time.
What worked and what did not:
Now is the time in which you should examine your parenting schedule to determine what worked and what didn’t. Were you able to coordinate visits easily? If Friday at 5 PM is an awful time to exchange due to traffic and work schedules, see if you can arrange a different time. Can you turn it into a Saturday morning exchange for a Monday drop-off instead? Remember, most California parenting plans allow for changes by mutual agreement, however, I always tell my clients you need to give a little to get a little. Attempt to have flexibility when negotiating these changes based on what worked and what didn’t in the previous year.
Be aware of the need to plan your year:
Some parenting plans have special considerations and timelines drafted into them as to when vacations need to be selected, summer camp registration happens earlier than we would all like to admit, sports have weekend tournaments, end-of-the-year trips with school occur, etc. Most of these situations are times when your child will not be with you and will often conflict with both parents’ parenting time. With planning for your children’s extracurricular trips/tournaments, etc., is there a time frame you need to meet at the start of the year in which to notify the other parents? Now, at the start of a new year is a time to review the parenting schedule and potentially meet those notification deadlines by planning well in advance.
Are there big changes to your child’s life that the current plan doesn’t take into consideration:
Above all else, take your child’s best interests into account. Their best interests, meaning their overall mental, physical, and emotional health should be your main concern when looking into your parenting plan and assessing whether any potential changes need to be made or not. Be open to negotiations, give a little to get a little, and be creative in the approach you take to changes made to the parenting plan. And remember if you get stuck, Butler Law is here to help get you those creative results in modifying your parenting plan.