Under Massachusetts’ child custody statute, either party seeking shared legal or physical custody must submit a custody implementation plan to the court. Negotiating a parenting plan in a divorce mediation enables spouses to address in writing where children will reside and how they will be provided for financially. Additionally, a detailed parenting plan defines each parent’s decision-making responsibilities on issues such as education and health care. Parenting plans allocate how much time parents will spend with the children. They also include mechanisms for resolving child-rearing disputes.
CREATING A PARENTING PLAN
Model parenting plans prepared by a Massachusetts task force are available.The task force consists of judges, probation officers and mental health professionals.The model plans are not required to be followed by parties creating their own plans. Each parenting plan a divorce mediation generates is unique. They depend on numerous factors, such as the children’s ages and emotional make-up. Another factor is the parties’ ability to cooperate and work out differences in parenting styles. The shared goal is to craft a plan in the children’s best interests.
Parenting plans should be modifiable as children age and the parties’ circumstances change. Moreover, they ought to delineate how and when the plans can be renegotiated. This post addresses the contents of well-mediated parenting plans. Nevertheless, preserving relationships between parents and their children is the paramount concern, rather than the precise details of a custody implementation plan.
VICTOR AND WENDY
Consider the following divorce mediation scenario. Victor and Wendy are ending their 15-year marriage. They are negotiating a parenting plan for their children, Tommy,12, and 8-year-old Zack. The couple wants joint legal and physical custody. Communication between the divorcing spouses is not contentious. There are concerns about Victor’s long work hours and job-related travel. Also, Victor believes Wendy excessively consumes alcohol.
Experienced family law attorneys and skilled divorce mediators recognize the problems that can derail parenting plans. These issues include parents missing scheduled visitation or one parent not delivering the children to the other as scheduled. Other problems arise, such as disputes over parental authority. Sometimes, children rebel and don’t cooperate with a plan’s visitation provisions. Another problem is vaguely worded plans that rachet up parental disputes.
WHAT A PARENTING PLAN SHOULD INCLUDE
Confronting these potential snags involves drafting detailed provisions. Spell out where Tommy and Zack will spend vacations, holidays, birthdays and family celebrations. On a grander scale, the specific hours and days the boys will spend at Victor’s and Wendy’s respective residences should be clearly stated. Also, include how the boys will be transported between Victor’s and Wendy’s homes.
Everyone participating in the mediation must strive to keep communication open and free of bickering. Avoid fighting over unrealistic clauses that merely fan spousal hostility. Don’t write, “Wendy promises never to consume alcohol during visitation with Tommy and Zack.” Instead, consider drafting a neutral clause emphasizing the children’s best interests. For example, “both parents agree not to expose the children to alcohol or illegal substances while the children are in the care of the other parent. The parties agree not to endanger the children by driving them while under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs.”
CLEARLY WRITTEN SPECIFIC PLANS
The custody implementation plan needs to grant Wendy and Victor access to the children’s documents. These include Tommy and Zack’s school records, medical history, and schedules for school and extracurricular activities. To deflect any accusation of one parent interfering with another’s visitation, attorneys will advocate including a provision describing how Victor will communicate with the boys while they are residing with Wendy and vice versa. Specific to Wendy and Victor’s parenting plan will be a provision concerning required notice to Wendy if Victor’s job travel demands prevent him from keeping a scheduled visitation.
In the hypothetical, it is crucial the custody implementation plan recognize the different parenting needs of Tommy and Zack. As a young elementary school-aged boy, Zack likely needs more hands-on parenting and may be more emotionally upset by the family break-up. In contrast, pre-teen Tommy might demand more independence and will have a busier schedule of school and after-school activities that the parenting plan should contemplate.
PARENTING COORDINATOR
Once Victor and Wendy hash out a parenting plan, it will become part of an order enforceable by the Probate Court. The court will accept it if it balances the parties’ rights and serves the children’s best interests. The Probate and Family Court under a Standing Order may appoint a parenting coordinator who works to reduce the effects of any conflict on the children who are subject to a parenting plan. The coordinator, usually a lawyer, clinical social worker or mental health professional, must undergo at least 30 hours of mediation training. The court may appoint a parenting coordinator with or without the parents’ consent. However, a parenting plan must in place before such an appointment occurs. The Court remains the ultimate arbiter on care and custody issues.
To illustrate that point, in a 2014 Massachusetts case, the Supreme Judicial Court hears an appeal brought by divorced parents of four minor children. The contentious parents accuse each other of violating terms of their divorce judgment. The trial judge appoints a parenting coordinator to make binding decisions on visitation issues. The judge requires the parties to present disputes to the parenting coordinator before bringing them to the court. The SJC finds error in the Probate Court decision to delegate authority to the parenting coordinator.
Contact us
Are you looking for an experienced Newburyport or Andover divorce lawyer or family law attorney? If you have any questions about divorce, custody, or family law issues, you may schedule a free consultation with our experienced attorneys. Call (866) 995-6663 during regular business hours and we will respond to your phone call promptly. Interested in learning more about mediation? Check out our article on handling the lying spouse in divorce mediation.