What is a Parenting Plan?
A parenting plan is a comprehensive document that breaks down how parents are to share childcare responsibilities including but not limited to:
- Child’s day-to-day schedule
- Holiday schedule
- Schedule for school breaks
- Location for child exchanges
- Decision-making parent for education, non-emergency health care, religious upbringing and extracurricular activities
- Child support
- Federal Income Tax Exemption
- Exchanging information about each parent’s income
- Exchanging information about each parent’s work-related childcare expenses
- Health, Dental, Vision and Orthodontic coverage for the child
- Life Insurance on the life of a parent to benefit the child
- Processes for dispute resolution among the parents
- Statutory Rights of each parent
- Statutory Requirements for Parental Relocation
and more!
Understanding the Elements of a Parenting Plan
- Child’s day-to-day schedule – This section outlines a child’s schedule with each parent. For example, “Father shall have responsibility for the care of the child except that Mother shall have the child from Friday pick-up from school or daycare (6 pm if a non-school day) to Sunday at 6 pm every other weekend.”
- Holiday schedule – This section outlines when a child will be with each parent during certain holidays. For example, a child may spend Labor Day with Mother in odd-numbered years and with Father in even-numbered years.
- Schedule for school breaks – This section outlines which parent the child will spend time with during school breaks such as Spring Vacation, Fall Vacation and Winter Vacation. For example, a child may spend Fall Vacation with Mother in odd-numbered years and with Father in even-numbered years.
- Location for child exchanges – This section sets forth where the parents will exchange the child. For example, “The parties shall exchange the child at McDonald’s at 123 Main Street, Nashville, TN.”
- Decision-making parent for education, non-emergency health care, religious upbringing and extracurricular activities – This section outlines which parent will make important, non-emergency decisions about the child. Commonly, parents split this responsibility between one another as they have a large and lasting effect upon the child.
- Child Support: If necessary, the court will allocate funds from one parent to the other for child expenses. This aspect is extremely case dependent and relies on the parents previous actions and financial situation. Expenses may be school extracurriculars, groceries for the child, medical expenses, and/or other things of that nature.
- Federal Income Tax Exemption – This section determines which parent will claim the child in tax documents, and when. For example, “Mother will claim child as dependent in even-numbered years, and Father will claim child as dependent in odd-numbered years”.
- Exchanging information about each parent’s income – This section outlines the necessary exchange of information regarding the other parent’s income, for the purposes of tax, insurance, and the like.
- Exchanging information about each parent’s work-related childcare expenses – This section breaks down which parent will insure the child, for how long, and through what agency.
- Health, Dental, Vision and Orthodontic coverage for the child – This section outlines what the insurance covers, and how the parents divide the uncovered expenses
- Life Insurance on the life of a parent to benefit the child – This section determines if there is life insurance, and what will happen to it in the event of a death of a parent
- Processes for dispute resolution among the parents – If parents cannot reach agreement on child care decisions, they go through the resolution process, which outlines the order in which a dispute should be resolved between parents. Mediation, with or without a neutral 3rd party will hopefully solve the disagreement, however if that fails, then the court or judge will reach a neutral verdict.
- Statutory Rights of each parent – Any parent regardless of gender has statutory rights over their child. These rights include but are not limited to; unimpeded phone calls, mail to and from child, notice to important information, the right to receive information about the child’s education and extracurriculars, medical notice, etc.
- Statutory Requirements for Parental Relocation – This section pertains to the legal procedure a parent with custody must go through if they plan to move more than 50 miles away from the other parent, or out of state.
- Communication Plan: A communication plan is a guideline for parents to effectively communicate with one another about the child via phone calls, text messages, or email.
- Parenting Time Schedule: Parenting time schedules decide how long the child will stay at one or the other parents homes. If the custody is 50/50, parents will usually exchange the child with one another every few days, or even every week or two weeks. Beyond that, parenting time is case dependent.
- Transportation Arrangements: It clarifies when and where parents would make an exchange of the child, and if needed, elaborates on payment for long distance transportation.
Who Needs a Parenting Plan?
In the State of Tennessee, a parenting plan is a required document for any custody action, for either parents in the midst of a divorce or parents who’ve never been married to one another.
How is a Parenting Plan Created?
The court encourages parents to reach consensus together and form a parenting plan, however if that is not attainable, mediation with a third party may be the best next step to reach an agreement on a parenting plan. If the parties cannot agree, a magistrate or judge will set a permanent parenting plan both parties’ must follow, based on the best interests of the minor child as determined by the custody factors set forth in T.C.A. §36-6-106.
Can a Parenting Plan be Changed?
Once a parenting plan is in place, it can be changed upon the filing of a petition to modify the parenting plan. The court has to find that there has been a “material change in circumstances” since the entry of the last parenting plan. According to the court opinion in “Hindiyeh v Abed (2020)”, “A material change of circumstance may include, but is not limited to, failures to adhere to the parenting plan or an order of custody”. In this instance, the Father presented material change as both parties’ new equal income. The mother had a pay raise, and now that they made similar incomes, the Father argued for 50/50 custody and a decreased obligation in child support. The Court approved this appeal, and granted both requests. Only when material change is determined, will the court adjust parenting plans, applicable to the factors set forth in T.C.A. §36-6-106.
Conclusion
Parenting plans are clear, direct guidelines on how both parents should operate with one another regarding their child. They are extremely helpful in avoiding confusion and conflict with the other parent, and can help benefit you and your child by making things regarding their care simpler. A comprehensive document with many parts, parenting plans break down each potential aspect of coparenting and set precedence for your future actions. If you need to alter your current parenting plan, or are currently in need of a new one, consider giving our office a call! With many years of experience, our attorneys will commit to helping you in any way we can. We work closely with each client to understand their unique circumstances and to explain things that the Court tends to focus on.
DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this article is to provide the general public with general information related to legal issues. None of the information provided within this article is intended to be construed or relied upon by any person(s) as legal advice. Further, reading this article does not create an attorney/client relationship between the reader and the author. If you need legal advice, it is recommended that you speak with an attorney who is licensed to practice law in your jurisdiction and practices the subject matter for which you are seeking legal advice.