Creating a co-parenting plan that works for everyone.
The important thing about creating a co-parenting plan is to recognize that whatever your parents methods were before the divorce are no longer the way that you’re going to do it. An example is a situation where you have a stay-at-home mom and a working dad. After the divorce, that stay-at-home mom is going to have to have a job, so for the first time their child has to go to daycare or an after school program and one of the parents is has the responsibility of picking them up.
You have to recognize that those changes occur and then look at your schedules and recognize that the children have schedules as well. If you take your calendar, your spouse’s calendar, the activities of your children and look at who has the best ability to meet those day-to-day needs, you wouldn’t have child custody litigation.
There’s a reason why the two parents had a child. They both believed at the time they could both be good parents and you have to have a willingness, even in a divorce, to let the other party be a parent to that child. In many cases, one side feels like the other person cannot be a good parent and they want to manage everything from who throws the birthday party to who takes the child to soccer, yet they’re busy working—so what are they going to do? That’s where you have to be creative in working out a schedule and realize that if you don’t work together, the judges in Texas are going to follow the Texas Family Code, which has a standard possession schedule that is presumed to be in the best interest of the child. However, that standard possession schedule doesn’t work for every family.
You want to pay attention to the issues that you have relative to your professions and come up with something that works for both parties and the child, so that everyone can come out of this, even if they don’t like each other as spouses, able to effectively co-parent their child.
Brian Loughmiller is a partner at the McKinney, Texas law firm of Loughmiller Higgins. Serving family law clients throughout North Texas and the DFW Metroplex area, Brian and his partner, Eric Higgins, have 47 years of combined trial experience. One of the top family lawyers in the state, Brian has been recognized as a Super Lawyer every year since 2005.
Eric Higgins is a family attorney serving residents of North Texas and the DFW Metroplex area who have family law concerns and divorce issues. Eric and his partner, Brian Loughmiller, have over 47 years of combined trial experience, which provides their firm with the experience necessary to guide divorcing clients through what can otherwise be a challenging and confusing process.
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