Parenting is hard, even when both parents live together under the same roof. However, when Florida parents go through divorces or choose to separate, then making sure their kids are well cared for can become even more difficult. In Brandon County and throughout the rest of the state, parents execute parenting plans to organize how they will share the responsibilities of caring for their children.

According to Chapter 61 of Title VI to the Florida Statutes, there are a number of considerations that must be included in a court ordered parenting plan. First, the parenting plan must outline how the parents will manage the daily needs of the child. Daily needs can include but are not limited to providing the children with food and shelter, as well as providing them with transportation to and from school.

Parenting plans also must provide schedules for how the child custody will be divided. Those schedules can differ greatly as each parenting plan must serve the best interests of the child or children included therein, and, as such, while one parenting plan may have the children spending every other week with each parent, another may have children only spending weekends with one parent while residing primarily with the other.

Finally, parenting plans must establish how important matters in the child’s life will be handled, such as which parent’s address will be used for school attendance and correspondence, who will be responsible for providing the child with health care, and how the child will be permitted to communicate with their other parent while in the custody of the other.

Parenting plans can provide more detail than what is provided in this blog post and readers who require assistance drafting their own parenting plans are encouraged to speak with family law attorneys. Whether related to a divorce or not, a parenting plan is an important tool that can help parents maintain their relationships with their kids even if their relationships with their former partners end.