Co-Parenting: New Year, New Arrangements
For many families, the new year can mark a period change in respect of your family unit and the beginning of a co-parenting relationship.
Our Irwin Mitchell Family Law Podcast, complete with insightful discussions with our family law experts and special guests are a great listen. The ‘making co-parenting work for your family’ podcast in particular poses the question; New Year, New arrangements?
In the words of our Family Partner Phillip Rhodes, based in our Manchester office “whilst you may be divorcing as husband and wife, you are not divorcing as parents”.
What is co-parenting?
Life after separation can feel very different, paired with many emotions. Some people may think that co-parenting only relates to each parent dividing the time they spend with the child equally, but co-parenting is really about working with the other parent to support the child’s upbringing, including making joint decisions about the child’s lives together. Whilst parents may have an idea as to what arrangements would work for them, it’s also important to remember that the child will have their own wishes and feelings about where they would like to spend their time. Children have a right to spend time with both parents, and are likely to have their own routine, to include attending extra- curricular activities and spending time with extended family.
How can arrangements be agreed?
It may be difficult to speak with the other parent especially after relationship breakdown, but trying to reach an agreement surrounding the children directly, putting all other issues to one side can allow for an open means of communication going forward. Any agreements can be recorded in a writing whether that be in the form of a text message, email or can be provided for in a parenting plan. Parenting plans can be useful for both parents to refer back to in the future. The use of parenting apps is also extremely helpful, and have many useful in- app functions, such as collaborative calendars to log the time spent with each parent or the child’s extra-curricular activities.
What if parents can’t agree?
Many options are available to help parents reach an agreement, this may be by way of exploring a means of Non-Court Dispute Resolution, such as mediation, which allows parents to explore arrangements by way of a voluntary, confidential process, with the assistance of an impartial third party. It is helpful to get in touch with a family law expert that will be able to discuss your individual circumstances with you and explore the options that may be suitable for you.
There is also more information in our Co-Parenting survey and top tips.
We have a specialist team of lawyers with extensive experience of advising parents following a separation or divorce. Contact us to find out more about our services.
