The decision to divorce can be difficult to make; this is especially true when children are involved. The concerned Arizona parent wants to ensure that the children are properly taken care of financially and emotionally. How the divorce will affect the children is often a primary consideration in the overall decision to divorce and the child custody arrangements that will follow.
Legal custody and physical custody are often what parents think of when it comes to child custody. In many instances, one parent will maintain physical custody with the other parent having visitation rights. Along with this arrangement, it is common for both parents to share legal custody where both parents are still responsible for making the major decisions regarding the child.
However, more and more often, parents are recognizing the need for a parenting plan to meet the needs of the children. A parenting plan is more than a simple custody agreement in that it recognizes that children’s needs will change over time. What was in the child’s best interest when he was a toddler is vastly different when he becomes a teenager. A parenting plan can also give both parents access to the child’s records and allow each parent to make decisions regarding the child when he/she is in that parent’s custody.
Other benefits of a parenting plan are that it can address birthdays, holidays, and other significant events that will arise. It can spell out an agreement regarding when the child can be left unsupervised, how the child will be transported to various places, and other important details. When it comes to child custody arrangements, Arizona parents have more to consider than just who the child will live with. Experienced legal counsel can be essential in making sure that all the important details are covered.
