WHAT IS A PARENTING AGREEMENT?

Custodial and parenting issues involving the children can be resolved under the parties' overall settlement agreement or in a separate Parenting Agreement.

Such a document generally includes resolution of the following important parenting issues:

• Custody -- Temporary or permanent; sole, joint or shared?
• Residential Custodian -- Defined or not defined?
• Visitation -- Supervised or liberal?
• Parenting Schedule -- Specific or general?
• Division of Holidays -- Per the weekly/monthly schedule or as specified by agreement?
• Grandparent Visitation -- Will either set of grandparents have defined visitation rights with the children before or after the parents' deaths?
• Transportation -- Who is responsible for transport the children for changes in parenting time?
• Exchange of the Children:
  • Where?
  • When?
  • Under what circumstances?
  • Who may participate in exchange? (i.e., can Grandma or Grandpa pick up or deliver the child if Mom or Dad is busy?)
• Vacations -- Will contact be permitted with the non-vacationing parent?  How often?  At whose expense?
• Decision-making Authority (custody):
  • Shared or joint?
  • To include:
    • Education?
    • Religion?
    • Health issues (medical, dental, psychiatric, etc.)?
    • Extracurricular activities?
• Designation of a Primary Residential Custodian?
• Education:
  • Are your children going to attend public or private school?
  • Who is responsible for tuition, books, school supplies, uniforms, etc.?
  • Who is responsible for transportation to and from school when the children aren't with their primary parent?
• Daycare:
  • Will younger children attend in daycare?
  • Where?
  • Who will pay for it?
  • Who will have the right to drop them off and pick them up?
• After-School Care:
  • Where will the school-aged children go for before-school and after-school care?
  • Who will pay for it?
  • Who can pick them up?
• Access to Records -- School, medical, etc.?
• Input with Educators -- Freedom to attend parent-teacher conferences?
• Other Access to Child -- To include e-mail, web-cam, telephone, cell phone, etc.?
• Tax Deduction -- Which parent will claim the children as dependents and when?
• Control of Children's Finances
• Conduct of the Parents -- No disparaging the other parent, no using the children to convey "adult" messages between the parents, etc.

Be sure that the agreement you sign adequately and satisfactorily covers all of these important issues.

Remember, if you do not understand the terms of the agreement, you should not sign it until you understand every provision!