Divorce, Your Children, and Their Changing Needs
The parenting plan you created with your ex-spouse during your divorce five years ago may have perfectly addressed your family’s situation at the time. But now, your children have grown, and their schedules and needs have changed. Sports and extracurriculars have interfered with the parenting plan that once worked for your family, and you now need to adjust this agreement to better reflect your needs.
Examples of Potential Complications With Parenting Plans as Children Grow
Developing a parenting plan may have been easy when your children were young and had consistent routines. But introducing extracurricular activities into the mix can complicate these plans and may lead to an unfair division of the child’s time between their parents.
Maybe…
- You have custody for the last week of August for vacation, but now your daughter is running cross country, and practice starts that week.
- Your schedule says the children spend Christmas in California with Dad, but now swim team practice is mandatory over winter break.
- One of you lives closer to the high school, and it is easier for the child to stay at your house for early or late practice.
It may not be fair or reasonable to expect the child to stick to the terms of the original parenting plan. In some cases, enforcing these terms could place significant strain on the family and even affect the child’s well-being.
Adapting Your Parenting Plan Over Time
Family transitions and changing schedules often necessitate adjustments to the parenting plan. You and your child’s other parent have a few options for doing so.
- If you and your co-parent are on good terms and have good communication, you can adjust the plan as needed without making any formal modifications to it. Having flexibility within the plan can save a lot of stress and headache when schedule conflicts arise, but this isn’t always feasible for every family.
- If you have a written parenting plan that was not a court-ordered custody agreement, you can generally make changes to it as needed. It might help to have your attorneys present to facilitate this discussion and ensure that both perspectives are heard.
Meanwhile, if you need to modify a custody order, this is a legal process that does require the court’s intervention.
Modifying Custody Orders To Suit New Circumstances
In Pennsylvania, modifying a custody order involves submitting a Petition for Modification of Custody Order with the court. You would generally need to demonstrate a significant change in the child’s needs to warrant this modification. Your attorney can provide guidance through the process and explore other options for adjusting the plan and your co-parenting strategies.
Seek Guidance From Karen Ann Ulmer, P.C.
As your child’s social and developmental needs change, so do your parental roles. Adapting a parenting plan after a divorce is common, and an experienced divorce attorney can help you do so effectively.
Request a confidential consultation with Karen Ann Ulmer, P.C., today at (866) 311-4783 to discuss changes to your parenting plan.
