If you have minor children and you get divorced, agreements must be made about the children. The mutual agreements will be laid down in writing in an agreement. This agreement is known as the parenting plan. The parenting plan is an excellent basis for getting a good divorce.
Is a parenting plan compulsory?
The law states that a parenting plan is compulsory for married parents who are divorcing. A parenting plan must also be drawn up when registered parents have their registered partnership dissolved. Parents who are not married or registered partners, but who exercise parental authority together, are also expected to make a parenting plan.
What does a parenting plan say?
The law prescribes that the parenting plan must at least contain agreements about:
- how you involved the children in drawing up the parenting plan;
- how you divide the care and upbringing (care regulation) or how you deal with the children (access regulation);
- how and how often you give each other information about your child;
- how you make decisions together on important topics, such as school choice;
- the costs of care and upbringing (child support).
You can also choose to include other agreements in the parenting plan. For example, what you, as parents, find important in your upbringing, certain rules (bedtime, homework) or views on punishment. You can also include something about the contact with both families in the parenting plan. So you can voluntarily include this in the parenting plan.
Drawing up a parenting plan
It is of course nice if you can come to good agreements with the other parent. If, for whatever reason, this is not possible, you can call in a mediator or family lawyer at Law & More. With the help of the Law & More mediators you can discuss the content of the parenting plan under professional and expert guidance. If mediation does not offer a solution, our specialised family law lawyers are also at your service. This enables you to negotiate with the other partner in order to make agreements about the children.
What will happen to the parenting plan?
The court can pronounce your divorce or dissolve your registered partnership. The family law lawyers of Law & More will send the original parenting plan to the court for you. The court then attaches the parenting plan to the divorce decree. As a result, the parenting plan is part of the court’s decision. Both parents are therefore obliged to abide by the agreements in the parenting plan.
Is it not possible to draw up a parenting plan?
It often happens that the parents do not reach full agreement on the content of the parenting plan. In that case, they are also unable to comply with the legal divorce requirement. There is an exception for such cases. Parents who can demonstrate that they have made sufficient efforts to reach agreement, but failed to do so, can state this in the documents to the court. The court can then pronounce the divorce and decide for itself on the points on which the parents do not agree.
Do you want a divorce and do you need help in drawing up a parenting plan? Then Law & More is the right place for you. The specialised family law lawyers of Law & More can assist and guide you with your divorce and drawing up a parenting plan.