Custody agreements can be thought of as the parenting manual for divorced parents. However, if it is vague, instead of easing the tension between parents, it can contribute to more conflict and confusion. Flolrida parents, however, can craft a detailed custody agreement that anticipates many of the areas that can lead to conflict in the future.
What should you include in a custody agreement?
All custody agreements begin with a parenting schedule based on the custody order, whether parents will share physical custody or if one will have primary custody and the other visitation rights. However, there is a lot more that parents can add to the custody agreement, including:
- The time and place for exchanges between the parents
- How holidays, special events, birthdays and vacation time will be handled
- How educational, childcare and extracurricular decisions will be made
- How medical care will be decided, who will be responsible for paying and who will be responsible for insurance for the child
- Which parent will be able to claim the child for tax purposes each year
- How, when, for what reason and how often parents will communicate regarding the children
Addressing new relationships in the divorced parents’ lives
Parents can choose to address when each parent will be allowed to introduce a new relationship to their children after the divorce. As well, if one or both parents remarry, they might also include language addressing the stepparents’ roles in their children’s lives, such as whether they can be considered alternate caretakers or can continue with visitation in case a parent is deployed or dies.
While it is impossible to anticipate all the areas that can lead to conflict in the future, parents can try to agree on the most detailed custody agreement they can craft. Additionally, as children grow and parents move on with their lives, they might seek modifications to the agreement to meet the family’s new needs.