What to Include in Your Child Custody AgreementEvery state requires that parents create some type of child custody agreement when they divorce or separate. The custody agreement becomes the legal document that outlines how parents will continue to care for their children when they are living separately. Now, it's important for you to look up the exact requirements that your state has concerning the agreement because some states have specific rules about what must be included. Fortunately, the basic custody agreement is similar regardless of the state, so there are some general requirements that everyone should have in their agreement. Here are some of the basic components to include in your custody agreement. A Complete Custody and Visitation Schedule The bulk of the agreement is your custody and visitation schedule. This is also called a parenting time schedule because it shows the parenting time of the mother and father. To make a complete schedule, you and the father should make a basic, repeating cycle of custody and visitation. This is the normal routine that you follow regarding where the child spends time. Along with this, you need to create a holiday and vacation schedule. This shows where the children will spend the holidays and vacations, and the specifics about how you and the father can take the children on vacation. Including all of these things will produce a schedule that shows where the child is at all times. Custody Provisions Custody provisions and stipulations provide extra rules and requirements that you and the father must follow in the custody situation. The best provisions for custody agreements are ones that help the child and make the situation better. For example, many states require that parents include information about joint or sole custody in the provisions. This means that you must explain how you and the father will share and divide up various parenting responsibilities. You can also add stipulations about how you will resolve disputes, how you will make future changes to the agreement, the requirements for traveling with the children, how you will choose extra-curricular events for the child, etc. The provisions can be customized to the situation so they fit exactly what you want. Information About Child Support Every state has an exact calculation it uses to determine child support. You and the father must each fill out the proper papers so that the state can figure out who pays the support and the amount. These papers and the child support calculation are included in the child custody agreement. Reports and Other Documents Depending on your situation, you may want to include some extra reports or documents that pertain to the custody case. Many parents like to have a copy of the timeshare percentage calculation in the agreement. This is a document that shows the exact timeshare that the mother and father have with the children. You can also include extra information about your child's special needs, education, medical information, etc. Any documents that are relevant to the agreement can be put in the agreement so you and the father can reference them. A Record and Journal of Visitation This doesn't necessarily go into the custody agreement, but it is a partner to it as you follow the agreement. To make sure that you and the father are abiding by the agreement, you should consider keeping track of actual visitation and writing a journal about what happens during visitation. There are many ways to do this, and you can choose a method that works for you. You can jot down notes in a simple notebook, keep a calendar where you mark the times of visitation, store all the information on your computer, etc. This is especially important if the father is frequently late for visitation or skips it altogether. You need to keep track of the extra time you have with the children so that you can go back to court and have the agreement altered to show what is really going on. Plus, if you keep good records, you will feel like you have greater control over the situation, and the peace of mind is a great benefit. To the top of What to Include in Your Child Custody Agreement At WomansDivorce.com we have one focus - helping women survive divorce and rebuild their lives. For more information about what to consider when creating a child custody agreement, read the following articles: Parenting Plans Home / More
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