In Wisconsin, divorcing parents in a custody dispute are required to submit a detailed parenting plan at least 10 days before mediation to promote efficiency and clarify potential settlement paths.
Working out a fair and realistic parenting plan that understands and addresses a child’s needs is crucial to a child’s best interests. It is important to work with an experienced child custody attorney to draft a comprehensive joint custody parenting plan which will include various provisions:
- Shared custody requires parents to mutually agree on major decisions regarding school, religion, or medical and indicate how emergency decisions will be handled (when one parent must act alone)
- A parenting time schedule that maximizes time with both parents must include a regular weekly schedule with exchange times/locations and means of transportation; annual rotations or splits during the calendar year for holidays, special days (birthdays, school or church events), and school breaks.
- A parenting plan will also include a first right to refusal agreement so that if a parent is unavailable during scheduled parenting time, the other parent gets first dibs to care for the child over a sitter or other family member.
- An agreement will discuss how communication will be handled between parents and between the child and parents such as the method (phones, apps, text or email), frequency, and parameters of child-parent calls when visiting other parent.
- With regard to medical, the plan should include who will carry medical and dental insurance and how copays or uninsured costs will be shared plus an agreement to share records.
- Parents should include plans for education such as school choice; how costs for tuition and related education expenses will be shared; and how parent teacher conferences will be handled.
- If one parent decides to relocate, include requirements for written notice, an objection period, and a default agreement that with any relocation – near or far – placement adjusts to maintain meaningful contact between the parents and child.
- Child support will be determined via a standardized calculation, but parents should include provisions for sharing variable costs for uninsured medical, extracurricular activities, and childcare. They will also want to decide who will take tax exemptions for the child, which they may alternate annually.
- Cooperation is key, but sometimes parents will have disagreements so it is important to include how they will resolve disputes in the parenting plan which may be an agreement to discuss contested issues directly, through mediation, or through a court motion.
- A plan to review or modify an agreement periodically and what conditions warrant an immediate review such as remarriage, new child, change in income, or relocation should be included in the parenting plan.
- Finally, if there are concerns regarding the safety/wellbeing of the child, the plan may request supervised visits or special provisions such as no alcohol or drug use during parenting time; no firearms; limits on travel; and no disparagement of the other parent in child’s presence.
Parenting plans are all about protecting the best interests of the child, which rely on careful planning and cooperation between parents who share custody. It is recommended that parents work with an experienced child custody lawyer who can provide them with knowledgeable advice on what to include in a comprehensive plan to minimize future conflicts and support the well being of the child. When you have questions regarding Wisconsin parenting plans, contact Probst Law Offices S.C. for help today at 414-210-3135.