A Sole Custody Parenting Plan
A sole custody parenting plan can mean a few different things because there are two types of custody: physical and legal. Physical custody refers to the parenting time that each parent has the children, and legal custody refers to the parental responsibility that each parent has for the children. For example, physical custody covers how the parents will share custody and visitation and legal custody covers how the mother and father will make decisions for the child. If one parent has sole physical custody of the child it means that the child lives primarily with that parent and visits the other parent. If a parent has sole legal custody, it means that parent has the authority to make all decisions for the child.
A sole parenting plan is usually referring to a situation where a parent has sole physical custody. The parent may also have sole legal custody, but that is a more unusual situation. This type of plan will have a sole custody parenting time schedule where the child lives with one parent (usually called the custodial parent) and visits the other parent (the non-custodial parent). A typical sole custody schedule is the weekend schedule–where one parent has the children during the week and the other parent has visitation on the weekends. The visitation can be every weekend, every other weekend, the 1st and 3rd weekends, the 2nd and 4th weekend, etc. The parents can also schedule a visit during the week if they want.
Generally, the non-custodial parent will pay child support to the custodial parent. This is because the custodial parent has a lot more financial obligation to the child because the child is living with that parent. A sole parenting plan can also have a provision about how the parents will pay for extra expenses for the child. They may also want to come up with a way to track expenses.
Parents can also add other provisions in the sole agreement to help the situation work better. Some common provisions include a process for how parents will resolve disputes, how the parents will handle transportation for the visits, how changes can be made to the visitation schedule, etc.
Some states have a preference for a joint parenting plan, so in these states a parent who wants a sole parenting plan must be prepared to show why a sole plan is better for the child.
A Joint Parenting Plan
A joint custody parenting plan is when the parents share physical and legal custody. It doesn’t necessarily mean that each parent has the children exactly half of the time. Instead, it means that the parenting time schedule gives both parents significant time with the children. In a joint plan, both parents are involved with raising the children.
One parent may still pay child support in a joint arrangement. The parents also agree to share the other expenses that come up with the child. A joint plan should specify how the parents will handle the finances of raising the child. Parents can also add provisions that can help the plan work more smoothly. They may need to have provisions about resolving disputes, making changes to the plan, handling transportation for exchanges, etc.
Some states have a preference for joint custody. If this is the case, the court will look more favorably on a joint parenting plan.
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