Editing Parenting plan (section)

==Drafting a parenting plan==
A well-drafted parenting plan addresses both the custodial rights and responsibilities of parents who share custody of a minor child or children, and the logistical and other procedures for carrying out its substantive requirements.<ref>{{cite web|title=Parenting Plan Checklist|url=http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fl-df/parent/ppc-lvppp/index.html|website=Department of Justice|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=3 October 2017|date=9 August 2017}}</ref> Parents can agree to a plan that takes into consideration their children's ages and needs and, if they continue to co-parent effectively, can adjust their plans over time to ensure that their plan remains in the best interest of their children.

===Guidelines===
Some jurisdictions have guidelines, either default rules<ref>See, e.g., {{cite web|last1=Jolly|first1=Sherry B.|last2=Roper|first2=J. David|last3=Craig|first3=Daniel J.|title=Parenting Plans & Revised Child Support Addendum|url=http://www.augustabar.org/Resources/459.pdf|website=Augusta Bar Association|access-date=3 October 2017|date=18 August 2008}}</ref> (''i.e.'', rules that apply only in the absence of provisions to the contrary) or hard-and-fast requirements to which all agreements must adhere,<ref>See, e.g., {{cite web|title=Revised Protocol for Family Law Cases|url=http://www.co.champaign.il.us/CircuitCourt/PDFS/Family_Law/2017FamilyLawProtocol.pdf|website=Circuit Court|publisher=Champaign County, Illinois|access-date=3 October 2017|date=1 January 2017}}</ref> addressing the content of parenting plans. Moreover, courts in some communities offer proposed templates whose terms take into account community-specific factors such as availability of day-care services, school-bus routes and schedules, and schedules of school and community athletics and other activities.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

===Content===
Topics addressed in a parenting plan may include, but are not limited to:

*Physical custody (how the child's time is to be divided between the separating parents and their separate households; a well-drafted plan will specifically contemplate holidays and school vacations)
:*Transferring the child from one parent to the other: schedule, method, and location
:*Departures from the typical custody schedule (''e.g.'', overnight stays with the other parent or with other relatives during a given parent's normal custody time)
:*Restrictions, as needed, on places visited and/or persons associated with while the child is present
*Legal custody (decision-making authority and rights to information)
:*Authority over physical and mental health-care decisions; access to health records
:*Authority to change the place at which a child resides while in the physical custody of a given parent
:*Authority over educational decisions such as where the child attends school; access to educational records
:*Authority to take the child on travel, especially travel outside the geographic jurisdiction of the court adjudicating the separation or divorce
:*Authority to claim the child as a dependent for income-tax purposes
*Financial support obligations:
:*Provision for basic needs
:*Payment for education
:*Payment of health-insurance premiums and other medical expenses
:*Inclusion of the other parent and/or the child in a given parent's estate planning, including both the probate process (disposition of assets by will) and procedures outside of probate (payout of life-insurance policies, distribution of survivor benefits, etc.)
*Communication between parents:
:*Obligation to keep the other parent apprised of contact information both of a given parent and of the child while with that parent
:*Right of the other parent to information about circumstances and events affecting the child's well-being
*Procedures for resolving disputes, including but not limited to disputes about the meaning of the plan's language and disputes alleging improper performance of the plan's provisions
:*Provisions, if desired, for [[alternative dispute resolution]] such as [[arbitration]] and [[mediation]]

In some cases, parenting plans may be established through the combined effect of multiple agreements each addressing a different subject. For example, one agreement may address physical custody while another addresses financial support.

===Entry by a court===
A parenting plan agreed upon by the parties in an out-of-court setting is often termed "endorsed", "stipulated" or "on consent."<ref name="aucourts"/><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cohen|first1=Lester|title=Mandatory mediation: A rose by any other name|journal=Conflict Resolution Quarterly|date=September 1991|volume=9|issue=1|pages=33–46|doi=10.1002/crq.3900090105}}</ref> A judge who finds a stipulated parenting plan to be consistent with the child's best interest may be able approve the plan without requiring the parties or the child to be present in court, sparing the parents inconvenience and the child the emotional stress of dealing with authority figures in an unfamiliar setting.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}