While the summer vacation season has just begun, now is the time to start thinking about how the parenting plan you have in place is going to work for the upcoming school year. By taking a look at things now, you’ll have plenty of time to try to negotiate a modification with your ex. There are several things to check in the order as you try to decide whether it’s still suitable — or not.
Living between two homes isn’t easy for children. Because of this, you have to consider what might help them fare the best. During the school year, being able to reduce or limit the weekday transitions from home-to-home might help. If your children are old enough to give their opinion on this type of situation, ask them how they feel about the schedule you used the prior year. Some children don’t mind the back-and-forth.
You also need to be realistic about who is going to handle pick-ups and drop-offs for things like afterschool care and extracurricular activities. This might have an impact on how the parenting time schedule is handled.
The goal of the parenting plan is to ensure that there is a guide for handling all matters related to the children. With the new school year, make sure that you also review how educational decisions are made. Update the communication preferences with the school if that’s necessary.
If you find that there are a lot of changes that need to be made with the parenting plan, you can work with your ex on a modification. Anything that’s modified must be in the child’s best interests.
