If you are a divorced parent with a young child, you want to stay in their lives. In most cases, you will work with the child’s other parent to meet your offspring’s needs until your child reaches the age of majority. Let’s take a closer look at some of the elements of a quality Alaska parenting plan.
A parenting plan should be flexible
A good parenting plan is flexible enough to meet your child’s needs at any time. For instance, if your child is sick on a day that he or she is supposed to be dropped off at your house, your child shouldn’t have to travel. If your former partner has to work on a day that he or she has custody of your kid, you should make an effort to supervise your son or daughter for an extra day.
Parenting plans should always put a minor’s needs first
Your proposed parenting plan does not go into effect until a judge has an opportunity to approve it. Therefore, it will need to meet the best interest of the child standard before it becomes legally binding after a divorce. However, if there are questions as to how the plan should be implemented after it’s approved, the answer should be to do whatever is best for your son or daughter. This is true even if the resolution to a problem is inconvenient for you or your child’s other parent.
Typically, parenting plans can be negotiated privately or with the help of a mediator. However, if you have trouble communicating with your child’s other parent, it may be necessary to ask a judge to create a plan on your behalf. Disputes related to such a plan may also be resolved privately, through mediation or in court.