Parenting Plan Mediation

Working out an effective parenting plan is an example of the best of what mediation can accomplish. Mediating this process enables you to become very creative in working out the parenting arrangement process.

What is Parenting Plan Mediation?

If you have children, an important part of the divorce process is determining how to divide parental responsibilities. Some of the most important issues to consider with your children are:

• Custody and visitation
• Allocation of parental responsibility
• Maintenance/child support
• Method of preferred communication between parents regarding parenting decisions

Most of the time, both parents want to be involved in their children’s lives. In order to define how this process will work, you need to create a parenting plan. An effective parenting plan works out how to best provide for the needs of your children so that both parents stay involved in their lives.

There are two ways to create a parenting plan. You can litigate. In this case, a judge who doesn’t know you and has limited information with which to base his decision will determine all of the important points of the parenting agreement. Frequently, this option leaves one or both parents in a situation where they feel that the agreement is less than satisfactory for their needs.

The other option is to work this plan out with a mediator. This allows both parents to sit down together and talk about all of the issues that are important to them in this agreement. Specifics such as custody and child support are determined by the parents instead of the court. Parents will have the ability to create a flexible plan that helps them balance their work and personal schedules with their parenting responsibilities.

Benefits of Mediation

A skilled mediator can get both parents to focus on figuring out a schedule that is most advantageous to the children. This can make the transition much smoother for both parents and children.

The following are some other benefits of mediation:

• Provides for a healthier, more stable post-divorce family life
• Enables parents to identify and resolve potential problems before the agreement is finalized
• Keeps the control of decisions about children in the hands of the parents, who know and understand their needs better than the court
• Provides a peaceful method to resolve an emotional and potentially contentious situation
• Parenting plan can be worked out much quicker and at a fraction of the cost of litigation

Jacoby & Meyers Can Help

Jacoby & Meyers has a team of highly trained and experienced mediators who can help you resolve your parenting plan so that the best interests of all parties involved are represented. Ultimately, the people who will benefit most from this process are your children, since working this out in a harmonious manner will make it easier for them to cope with the trauma of a divorce.

Please contact our mediation attorneys today to schedule an appointment. Jacoby & Meyers has offices nationwide.