Editing Parenting plan (section)

== United States ==

In the [[United States|United States of America]], many{{which|date=November 2016}} [[Federalism in the United States|state courts]] require that separating or divorcing couples who have children include a parenting plan among the terms of their separation agreement and/or their eventual divorce decree. Separated or unmarried parents may enter into a parenting plan of their own creation without going to court, but that plan won't be enforceable in court.<ref>See, e.g, {{cite web|title=Co-Parenting Guide|url=https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/files/cs/coparenting.pdf|website=Office of the Attorney General of Texas|access-date=3 October 2017}} (Discussing informal parenting plans).</ref>

Parenting plans are usually initiated as part of a divorce decree or custody case between unmarried parents.  Divorced parents whose child custody is governed by a parenting plan can request that a court amend the plan or replace it with a new one.  In jurisdictions whose laws permit the practice, some plans permit the parties to amend certain provisions, such as those specifying where a parent will live during that parent's time with the child, by agreement without court approval.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

A court reviewing a petition for amendment or replacement of a court-ordered parenting plan will employ the "child's best interest" standard in light of circumstances or changes in circumstances such as a parent's relocation, the presence or absence of [[child abuse]] in one or both parents' households, and health problems of a parent or the child.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Abramowicz|first1=Sarah|title=Contractualizing Custody|journal=Fordham Law Review|date=2014|volume=83|page=67|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/flr83&div=8&id=&page=|access-date=4 October 2017}}</ref> If the parents in a custody dispute request, many states allow children who are old enough to state an informed preference, to testify about their own preferences as to custody and parenting time, with their opinion taken into consideration by the court along with all other evidence relating to their best interest.<ref>See, e.g., {{cite web|title=The "Best Interests of the Child" Factors|url=https://michiganlegalhelp.org/self-help-tools/family/best-interests-of-child-factors|website=Michigan Legal Help|access-date=3 October 2017|date=2012-05-21}}, {{cite web|title=Best Interests of the Child|url=http://www.nycbar.org/get-legal-help/article/family-law/child-custody-and-parenting-plans/best-interests-of-the-child/|website=New York City Bar|access-date=3 October 2017|date=January 2015}}</ref>  The weight assigned by the court to a child's testimony will vary with factors such as the child's intellectual and psychological maturity, for which the child's age is often used as a proxy; the child's level of insight into his or her situation; and the credibility of the child's testimony as affected by factors ranging from the child's level of honesty to any undue influence on the child by either or both parents.

Most states require that court-ordered parenting plans set forth the minimum amount of parenting time and access to which a noncustodial parent is entitled.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/107.102|title=Oregon 107.102 Parenting plan}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://circuitclerk.nashville.gov/circuit/forms/formcir_8_pprequirements.pdf|title=Tennessee, Minimum parenting plan requirements|access-date=2010-08-01|archive-date=2011-08-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813153719/http://circuitclerk.nashville.gov/circuit/forms/formcir_8_pprequirements.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.georgiacourts.org/forms/Parenting%20PlanForm_08.pdf|title=Georgia parenting plan|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006000351/http://www.georgiacourts.org/forms/Parenting%20PlanForm_08.pdf|archive-date=2014-10-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jud14.flcourts.org/CountyPrograms/FamilyLaw/Brochures/Parenting%20Plan%20Brochure.pdf|title=Florida Parenting Plan|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314110745/http://www.jud14.flcourts.org/CountyPrograms/FamilyLaw/Brochures/Parenting%20Plan%20Brochure.pdf|archive-date=2013-03-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/family/custody/parenting/inplan.htm|title=California Parenting Plans|date=2019-02-05}}</ref> In these states, an agreement's failure to specify the non-custodial parent's minimum level of access can constitute grounds for appeal of the adjudicating court's approval of the plan.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}  In cases where separated or divorced parents live near each other, most U.S. states' [[family court]]s follow a [[default rule]] of granting the non-custodial parent the right of visitation on every second weekend and some holidays.  Where parents live farther apart, states such as Florida, Oregon, New Hampshire and New York allow the combination of these visits into longer stretches of time to reduce traveling.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://12circuit.state.fl.us/ProgramsampServices/FamilyDivisionInformation/ApprovedParentingPlans.aspx|title=Florida Approved Parenting Plans|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731192718/http://12circuit.state.fl.us/ProgramsampServices/FamilyDivisionInformation/ApprovedParentingPlans.aspx|archive-date=2010-07-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://courts.oregon.gov/OJD/OSCA/cpsd/courtimprovement/familylaw/Parentingplanbasic.page?ga=t|title=OREGON STANDARD PARENTING PLAN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.courts.state.nh.us/forms/nhjb-2064-fs.pdf|title=NEW HAMPSHIRE PARENTING PLAN|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215021414/http://www.courts.state.nh.us/forms/nhjb-2064-fs.pdf|archive-date=2010-12-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nycourts.gov/forms/matrimonial/ParentingPlanForm.pdf|title=New York Parenting Plan sample}}</ref>