A more thorough explanation:
A parenting plan is a legal document that outlines how divorced parents will share the responsibilities of raising their child. It includes details about where the child will live, how they will spend holidays and vacations, transportation arrangements, decision-making authority, and limitations on communication between parents.
- Where and when a child will be in each parent's physical care, designating where the child will spend each day of the year
- How holidays, birthdays, vacations, school breaks, and other special occasions will be spent with each parent including the time of day that each event will begin and end
- Transportation arrangements including how the child will be exchanged between the parents, the location of the exchange, how the transportation costs will be paid, and any other matter relating to the child spending time with each parent
- Whether supervision will be needed for any parenting time and, if so, the particulars of the supervision
- An allocation of decision-making authority to one or both of the parents with regard to the child's education, health, extracurricular activities, and religious upbringing, and if the parents agree the matters should be jointly decided, how to resolve a situation in which the parents disagree on resolution
- What, if any, limitations will exist while one parent has physical custody of the child in terms of the other parent contacting the child and the other parent's right to access education, health, extracurricular activity, and religious information regarding the child
For example, a parenting plan may specify that the child will spend weekdays with one parent and weekends with the other, or that the child will alternate holidays between the parents. It may also outline who will be responsible for making decisions about the child's education and healthcare.
The objectives of a parenting plan are to:
- Provide for the child's physical care
- Maintain the child's emotional stability
- Provide for the child's changing needs as the child grows and matures, in a way that minimizes the need for future modifications to the permanent parenting plan
- Set forth the authority and responsibilities of each parent with respect to the child
- Minimize the child's exposure to harmful parental conflict
- Encourage the parents to meet their responsibilities to their minor children through agreements in the permanent parenting plan, rather than by relying on judicial intervention
- To otherwise protect the best interests of the child
Overall, a parenting plan is designed to ensure that both parents are involved in their child's life and that the child's needs are met in a way that is fair and equitable to all parties involved.