Negotiating a parenting agreement once you’ve decided to divorce can be one of the greatest challenges you will encounter. Even if you and your spouse get along enough to have peaceful discussion about your children or other divorce-related issues, various complex issues (even logistics) can make it difficult to iron out all the wrinkles in your plan.
As a Kentucky parent who has your children’s best interests in mind, you no doubt want to make sure you are doing all you can to provide for their needs without giving up your parental rights. Cooperation and compromise are key factors toward success when your goal is to create a co-parenting plan that is fair and agreeable to both parties.
Clear communication and willingness work together
Studies show that children fare best when they maintain active relationships with both parents after divorce. To make sure your children have an opportunity to do so, you may want to consider the following ideas to help secure a plan that is satisfactory to you and your co-parent:
- Don’t be afraid to clearly state your needs. If it is imperative to you that you must pick up your children by a certain time on a certain day on a regular basis, explain your circumstances and ask your spouse to cooperate in creating a schedule that works.
- On the flip side, be ready and willing to listen to your co-parent’s needs as well and to compromise wherever you can to help fulfill those needs.
- Perhaps you have several unresolved issues that you need to negotiate before you can settle your differences and submit a co-parenting plan to the court for approval. You may want to consider mediation, where you can benefit from a family law attorney’s experience acting as a neutral third party and discussion facilitator.
If you find yourselves going ’round and ’round about a particular issue and can’t seem to make any headway, it’s always a good idea to agree to take a break and come back at a later time to try again. This helps avoid arguments and gives everyone involved a chance to clear their thoughts and revisit the idea rather than trying to force a solution that may cause stress levels to soar.
Combined effort goes a long way
If you access any and all resources available and agree to work together for the good of your children, you may be able to move on in life with confidence that you have a solid co-parenting plan and available support to help overcome any obstacles that arise.