Parenting Time Or Visitation Rights

In divorces among couples who have children, both parents must act in the best interest of their kids. With this in mind, parents need to consider the essential parental responsibilities issues of parenting time or visitation rights each parent gets with their children .

Parenting Time – It’s The Law

It’s enshrined in Colorado law for both parents to have a relationship with their children. However, in case of split up or divorce, these rights remain undefined until the court orders on child custody and visitation are made.

Naturally, visitation is significant for both parties. Unfortunately, it is also the leading cause of divergence between divorcing parents. Child visitation attorneys will also ask couples to make visitation a success and working for the best interests of the children.

Make Visitation A Success – It’s Up To You

To make the visitations a success, parents must come to terms with the fact that innocent children are involved. Moreover, the children will have 2 separate households, and it is essential they are comfortable and safe in both environments.

The Parenting Plan

A parenting plan is an agreement entered by the parents that outline an individual’s responsibilities regarding their children. The deal will include both parenting time and decision making as its foundation. Additionally, it will cover topics like medical issues, religion, and dispute resolution.

Herein is an overview of what a parenting plan should cover. However, this is not legal advice, and you should consult a divorce attorney to help you make a formal agreement. Consulting a family law attorney will ensure the resulting document is tailored to meet your family’s specific needs.

Nonetheless, a parenting plan should include:

• The primary residence of your children
• Parenting time, taking into account holidays, breaks, and school vacations
• Education, including extracurricular activities participation, whether to take the children to private or public schools, tuition payment, how the school will be paid, and much more
• Issues of religion – the religious upbringing of children, religious observance, church activities children should engage in, deciding on youth groups kids to join, etc.
• Medical issues – should include agreement on who to pay for the kid’s medical cover, the doctor the children should visit, who will access the kid’s medical records, payment of uninsured medical costs, etc.
• Dispute regulation – How any dispute should be resolved in the event the parents have a disagreement giving rise to court cases (to use mediation or other forms of dispute resolution)
• Other matters of importance to the parents such as how to discipline children, emergency plans, grandparent visitations, estate planning, children entertainment, etc.

An experienced Colorado Springs divorce attorney will help you make a parenting plan that meets your needs and goals, whether you opt for a comprehensive or simple plan.

Our experienced attorneys offer all types of parenting time issues and visitation planning, such as:

• Establishing time orders in your child custody or divorce case
• Modifying parenting time occasioned by a change in circumstances
• Enforcing parenting time orders
• Changing of the main residential custody
• Motion to restrict parenting time and parenting time emergencies

We  Can Help Today

If you’re in the process of divorcing your partner, don’t create a parenting time agreement or try to enforce it alone. Consult our experienced family law attorney Mary Daugherty today and let her help craft the best parenting time or visitation rights plan for your children.