North Metro Parenting Plan Lawyer
In North Metro, a parenting plan is required in every child custody case. Consequently, so is the service of parenting plan attorneys.
Parenting plans, also known as custody agreements, are outlines of what separated parents should do to raise their children. Upon reaching a settlement, the parents will draft a plan together, and the judge will then turn it into a final order. This is true if the draft covers the involved children’s health, safety, and welfare.
On the other hand, if the parents couldn’t settle, each of them will have to submit a proposed plan 10-14 days before the court hearing. If the case goes to trial, the judge will have to order the best plan based on the children’s needs. It can be the combination of the two proposed plans, which will possibly involve some limited changes.
This process can get messy without the legal expertise of a parenting plan attorney. If you are about to draft out your parenting plan, make sure to acquire some legal assistance. This won’t just save you time; it will also ensure that the final order will be beneficial for you and your children.
Contact Vayman & Teitelbaum, P.C. at (678) 504-8411 and talk to our expert parenting plan attorneys now.
Parenting Plan Requirements and Other Inclusions
Creating a parenting plan isn’t as easy as you may first think. There is a handful of information you need to include and specify per the instruction of the law of Georgia. The task can be exhausting, making the service of a parenting plan attorney extremely invaluable. Skilled attorneys will handle the drafting of the plan for you, among other legal services.
Parenting plan attorneys will handle the following inclusions in the draft of your proposed plan:
Physical custody
This will determine where the children will reside and who will act as their caretaker. There are three available options for this.
- Primary physical custody – One parent will get the majority of parenting.
- Joint physical custody – Parenting time is split almost equally between both parents.
- Sole physical custody – One parent will get almost all of the parenting time. If you want to acquire this type of custody, but the other parent opposes, you have to prove that spending more time with them will negatively affect your children.
Under the details for physical custody, a written visitation schedule will also be included. Each child can have a different schedule based on their age and other needs. The work schedules of the parents and the school schedules of children should also be included to support the practicality of the visitation schedule.
Parenting plan attorneys will guide you on what’s the best custody to go for and detail it out for you.
Legal custody
The parenting plan will state whether the parents will share joint legal custody or if only one parent will have legal custody. If joint legal custody is chosen, specifications on how major decisions should be made for the children will be included. This may even state that aside from the parents, a third party (can be a parenting coordinator) can make the decisions of both parents cannot.
However, regardless of the legal custody arrangement, Georgia law requires each parenting plan to state that parents can make day-to-day decisions when caring for the children.
With the help of a parenting plan attorney, you can make sure that the best legal custody arrangement will be proposed and awarded to you.
Child support
Unless either you or the other parent applied separately for child support, this information could be skipped in the parenting plan if you’re part of a legitimation case.
If you are involved in another custody case, a completed Child Support Worksheet and Domestic Relations Financial Affidavit will be attached to the parenting plan.
Although further details about child support aren’t commonly discussed in parenting plans, parents can include a support amount in the plan. If this amount differs from that which the state suggests, they will have to justify their proposed amount.
Other provisions
The provisions for the following must also be included in your parenting plan unless the judge says otherwise:
- Exchanging the children
- Transporting children and the related costs
- Access to children’s records and information
- Future plan adjustments when the children reach certain ages
Also, if neither parent poses any type of health and security risk, an acknowledgment saying that the children will benefit from close relationships with both parents will be included in the parenting plan.
To be certain that all provisions are included in your plan with ironed out details, the legal service of a parenting plan attorney will be crucial.
Special Cases
In cases where children go to daycare facilities, parenting plans will include an attached proposed daycare schedule. If the children are homeschooled or require special education, their teacher’s or institution’s credentials will be required.
If one parent needs limited visitation, also known as supervised visitation, the parenting plan should include how it will work and why it is best for the children. For parents who have a criminal or violent history, all related records and orders—together with the confirmation or denying statement of the wrongdoing—are required to be attached in the plan.
For military parents, all plans associated with deployment must also be included. Details will cover the means on how contact will be maintained between the children and the deployed parent or how the children will transition into the physical custody of the other parent. It will also be stated whether or not the visitation time of the deployed parent will go to his/her extended family. Moreover, details on how parents will abide back to the original parenting plan after deployment should also be included.
With a skilled parenting plan attorney, you can make sure that you wouldn’t miss any important specifications for the best interest of your children.
Additional information
Additional information is not strictly required in a parenting plan. However, Georgia courts are encouraging parents to think ahead of all the disagreements or conflicting scenarios that may happen in the future. By addressing how these situations will be handled in the parenting plan, you can save yourself and your children from future unnecessary stress.
This additional information may include details on handling relocation, unexpected changes, response time, new partners, parent-child communication, residence privacy, morality, and mutual respect.
Hiring an expert parenting plan attorney will assure you that your parenting plan will include all the important details and that all possible scenarios have been foreseen and addressed in the plan.
Remember, in preparing a parenting plan; you should leave no room for interpretation. This means you should use airtight language that will specifically state all the terms that you want. This cannot be vague nor insufficient with details.
Hiring a parenting plan attorney will save you time from personally drafting all the information, not to mention the errors you might commit because of limited legal knowledge.
Judicial Decisions on Permanent Parenting Plan
Like in almost any other case, many things will affect a judge’s ruling over a proposed parenting plan. These things can range from behavior to health issues.
- A judge will seek the answer to the following questions before giving a final order:
- Are both parents capable of putting their children’s welfare before their own?
- Do both parents have a positive approach to this issue? Or someone, if not both, is negative and accusing towards the other?
- Are both parents willing to compromise?
- Are both parents willing to take parenting disputes to arbitration?
- Are both parents genuinely listening to each other’s side?
- Are both parents courteous, professional, and focused on parenting issues? Or are they using the forum to just complain about their personal issues on each other?
- Are both parents healthy, physically, and mentally speaking?
- How involved is each parent in their children’s lives?
- Are both parents encouraging their children to maintain a close relationship with the other parent?
The judge will always look at the emotional ties that the children have with each parent. Also, the parents’ ability to give love and emotional support to their children as well as their ability to provide their children’s needs will play a significant role in the judge’s ruling.
An expert parenting plan attorney will help legally put your best foot forward and ensure that the approved parenting plan will be in the best interest of your children and beneficial to you as well.
Working With Parenting Plan Attorneys
When proposing a parenting plan, you must make sure that it is detailed, practical, and compelling. This is why you need to acquire the legal assistance of a skilled parenting plan attorney. There are just some things you can’t easily do on your own.
The following are some of the benefits you can expect from working with a parenting plan attorney:
- They have an understanding of custody laws that will be hugely advantageous for you. They will work around the terms that you want, the circumstances that you’re in, and legally represent you while effectively protecting your rights.
- They will put your children’s interests first. In the heat of the moment, there’s a possibility you will just be focused on having the upper hand over the other parent. With the sound legal guidance of a parenting plan attorney, you will be kept in line and be focused instead on acquiring a plan which works for both you and the other parent while addressing your children’s needs above all else.
- They are experts in negotiating. You can expect that whatever the final order is, it will be a parenting plan that will work best for you.
- They will significantly reduce your stress. Any legal procedure can stress anyone, much less the procedure that involves dealing with your former partner. By hiring a parenting plan attorney, you will not have to deal with every minute detail yourself and, perhaps more importantly, your attorney can guide you throughout the process and keep you cool while trying to reach the best plan for your children.
Best Legal Service in Georgia
In Vayman & Teitelbaum, P.C., we know that as much as you want to put into words how you will take care of your children, preparing a parenting plan may not just be your forte. You need an expert legal assistant to help you out.
Our parenting plan attorneys in North Metro, GA will help you draft out a plan that will secure the best result for you and your children. We will work on creating a plan that will show your genuine investment in your children’s welfare, as well as your willingness to work with the other parent to raise your children properly.
Our law firm housed a team of knowledgeable parenting plan attorneys with a deep understanding of the law, enabling them to help you identify the best move forward. Our attorneys are extensively experienced and are professionals whom you can trust to focus on your issues’ details, think about future disputes, and plan on how matters should be legally handled way ahead of time.
With our parenting plan attorneys working with you, you can rest assured that you can give the best plan for your children without stressing too much over the process.
Consult Our Law Firm Now
Preparing a parenting plan without the assistance of a skilled attorney can be daunting. The process can be taxing, and mistakes can be many.
If you are facing divorce or you have questions about the required parenting plan, call Vayman & Teitelbaum, P.C. at (678) 504-8411 and talk with our best parenting plan attorneys in North Metro.