A hundred years ago, when a woman had a child out of wedlock, there wasn't any way for the courts to determine who the father was. They could look at the physical characteristics of the child and take a guess, but beyond hunches and guesswork, there was no way to know for sure. These days, if a child is born to unmarried parents, legal avenues exist through which the mother can establish paternity for the purpose of collecting child support. The biological father can also step forward to establish paternity for the purpose of gaining visitation rights.
Do you need to factor third-party time into your parenting plan?
You and your ex will be the ones who spend the most time with your children. There's no doubt about that. As such, the primary purpose of your parenting plan is to decide how you and your ex will divide the time with your kids between one another. An important way to ensure this division is fair involves taking into account third-party time.
When is joint child custody a bad idea?
If you ask a child psychologist, he or she will probably tell you that joint child custody is preferred. Child psychologists like the idea of children spending half their time with you and half their time with the other parent because it gives them as much time as possible with both parents -- and this has a positive effect on their growth and development. At the same time, however, psychologists will also agree that a 50-50 custody split is not appropriate in all situations.
Provisions you might want to put in your parenting plan
There's no way to predict what will happen in your post-divorce life. However, if you're a parent, you will need to do your best to look into the future and prepare for every contingency. This is the task that's asked of parents when they set out to draft a parenting plan that supports their needs and protects them and their children from the threat of disagreements later down the line.
How will you divvy up the holidays with your kids?
Most families have established various traditions they enjoy with their children during the holidays. Whether it's decorating the Christmas tree, drinking hot coco while singing a Thanksgiving hymn, or hunting for Easter eggs in the backyard, some of these holiday traditions will take on a different flavor when mom and dad are living apart. There's also the fact that the children will probably only get to spend each holiday with one parent at a time.
