Three Key Issues Not to Forget When Negotiating a Kansas Parenting Plan

At our Kansas child custody law firm, we are committed to the principle of making the resolution of child custody disputes as amicable as possible for our clients.  We know that there is little to be gained by igniting conflicts and fueling animosity so we endeavor to reach negotiated parenting plans with custody and visitation orders that promote the parents’ ability to co-parent.  While we are realistic enough to know that in some child custody cases contentious litigation may be unavoidable, our goal is to be part of the solution rather than the problem.

An important part of this role involves helping parents recognize potential issues so that they can include provisions in their parenting plan to prevent future disputes that force the parties to continuously return to court to deal with matters that were not dealt with properly the first time.  We have provided an overview of common mistakes made by parties to a divorce or paternity case when parties negotiating a parenting plan do so without an experienced Kansas child custody attorney:

Parental Relocation

Residential relocations by a parent that impacts custody and visitation arrangements can be one of the most important and intensely contested child custody issues.  When a primary residential parent chooses to re-locate out of state with minor children after an agreement to allow this division of parental responsibilities, this can make things very difficult for the other parent and costly for both parents in litigating whether the move-away should be permitted.  This is an issue that can be eliminated to a significant degree by discussing the possibility and addressing it in the parenting plan.

Extracurricular Activities

This is an issue that many parents who are not being advised by a Kansas child custody lawyer fail to address when negotiating a parenting plan.  There are a number of issues that should be considered that include any prohibitions on activities, the process and parameters for scheduling such activities and/or the allocations of cost.  There are certain activities that a parent may be steadfastly opposed to like the child’s participation in contact sports.  If these are issues about which a parent feels strongly, they should be discussed up-front so that they do not become the source of conflict between the parents, disappointment for the child and unnecessary litigation costs.

When the scheduling of these activities impacts the other party’s parenting time, this may become a serious problem.  The parties should either agree that such activities cannot be scheduled so that they interfere with the parenting time of the other parent or impose a joint decision-making process when scheduling such activities.  While the other parent who does not schedule the activity can always take the child during his or her parenting time, the location or timing may make it inconvenient.

The issue of cost can be addressed by imposing a rule about who will pay for extracurricular activities, such as allocating the cost to the parent who schedules the activity, to both parents equally or to the parent paying child support.  Alternatively, a provision may be used to facilitate a decision process to be used when allocating cost.

Religious Practice and Training

This is a major issue of contention particularly if the parents have different religious upbringings or enter into a relationship with someone of another faith.  While there are various ways to handle this issue, such as allowing the child to participate with each parent according to that respective parent’s faith when in their home or picking a religion the child will observe, this is a passionate issue for many parents that can land you back in court if it is not handled clearly in the parenting plan.

Wichita, KS family law attorney Thomas C. McDowell has been practicing law for over two decades and uses this experience to guide his clients past the difficult emotions that can derail constructive negotiations on child custody, parenting time and visitation issues.  When a negotiated solution is not realistic, Mr. McDowell is prepared to zealously pursue the best resolution for his clients and their children.  We offer a free consultation so that we can evaluate your situation so call us today at 316-269-0746 or submit an online case evaluation form.