What You Need To Know: Parenting Plans in Maryland

Thank you for joining me. My name is LaSheena Williams and I am a Maryland family law attorney. My firm helps our clients take control of out-of-control domestic situations. Today, we will be discussing parenting plans. 

What Is A Parenting Plan In Prince George’s County, Maryland and Montgomery County, Maryland? 

 A parenting plan is a plan you have in place between you and your partner regarding your custody for your children. It will detail transportation, transition locations, access including school access, summer access, and holiday access. 

What Is The Purpose Of A Parenting Plan?

The purpose of a parenting plan is to outline what will be happening with you, your co-parent, and your children. The purpose is to make sure that you always know when you’ll be spending time with your children, when you won’t be, and what happens if certain situations arise. 

What Should You Include In Your Parenting Plan?

You should include anything that you and your partner may need clarification on in your parenting plan. You should include school access, summer access, holiday access, pick up drop off locations, pick up drop off times, transition locations, write a first refusal, what to do in case of an emergency, what to do for non-enumerated holidays, and any other issue or concern that may arise so that you and your partner can be on the same page regarding what will happen for co-parenting your children. 

What Should You Not Include In Your Parenting Plan?

You should not include a few key issues in your parenting plan. You should not include information about child support because that’s not necessarily going towards what’s happening with parenting. You should also not include requirements for people that aren’t actually co-parents. So, for example, some people may want to include what should happen with their co-parents’ girlfriend, boyfriend or partner, but that is inappropriate. You need to outline what you and your co-parent are doing, not what other people’s requirements may be because they are not parties to the co-parenting plan.

Details Matter Be Specific!

I found as an attorney that is very important to be as detailed and thorough as possible. You don’t want to get caught up in the weeds for everything, you don’t want to be discussing the minutia of every hour of every day but you want to know how to define certain holidays and access during certain times so that everybody’s on the same page about what’s happening and when it’s happening. 

Contact An Experienced Maryland Divorce Attorney Today For Your Parenting Plans In Montgomery County and Prince George’s County, Maryland

If you have any questions about crafting or maintaining a parenting plan, please feel free to give me a call at (301) 778-9950 to speak with an attorney today.