Answer:

I was in a mediation the other day working with a client to determine parenting time would best fit their needs and those of their children, and once the divorce is finalized, what that would look like day in and day out for them. In Georgia, it’s required that for every divorce and custody case that you would have to have a parenting plan. That parenting plan, there is a form, a suggested form under Georgia law that we use. It addresses every day of the week, every holiday, every special circumstance for you, and outlines exactly the parenting time that you would have and the parenting time that your spouse would have.

It’s very important that during your custody case, you pay very close attention to that parenting plan because, ultimately, that’s going to guide you day to day on what you’re going to do, especially if you can’t reach an agreement later on with a parent about whose day it is or what holiday should be spent with which parent. The parenting plan is going to designate your parenting time. That ultimately is when the children will be with you during the week, on the weekends, or certain holidays. That’s going to really be your guideline of how to go about exercise of visitation parenting time with your kids.

If you have a parenting plan now and you want to make some adjustments, or if you’re entering into a custody case and you don’t know what the parenting plan is, or what it should look like, or what a judge may grant parenting time in that parenting plan, please call our office. We’ll sit down with you and give you examples past parenting plans and different types of parenting time that may be creative and more unique than what a trial judge would do for you. We would sit down with you and look at your best and worst-case scenarios about parenting time and what your visitation would look like. Then we would be able to tell you what we think a judge would do or what you should settle for in any kind of negotiations or settlement discussions. We can give some good advice to you about what your parenting time would look like even after a divorce or a custody action is completed.