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Kids should be protected from some realities of custody disputes

On Behalf of | Feb 17, 2015 | Family Law

There is no doubt that divorce can be extremely difficult for families across California, especially when there are children involved. We previously wrote an article about how parents can focus on positive parenting in the wake of a divorce. In that article, titled “Positive Parenting Through Divorce,” we discuss some ways that parents can work through divorce transitions with children.

However, the children aren’t and shouldn’t be directly involved in every step of creating, complying with and changing a parenting plan. In this blog post, we will look at why and when parents will have to act on behalf of the children in the interest of creating a positive parenting plan.

Courtrooms, mediation sessions and meetings with attorneys are typically no place for children. It is true that in some cases, children are asked to speak formally about their wishes or their relationship with parents, but generally speaking, they shouldn’t have to concern themselves with the legal aspects of a custody or visitation dispute. Parents will have to work out these issues themselves.

In order to create an effective parenting plan that benefits both the children and the parents, moms and dads should take a mature approach to setting an agreement for custody or visitation. They will need to take into consideration issues like where the child goes to school, where he or she may feel most comfortable and how to make this plan as consistent and stable as possible. Further, it can be crucial to ensure that a child is able to spend as much time as is appropriate with each parent.

When it comes to disputes about a plan or making changes to it, parents will again need to work on behalf of their children, not with them. Whether a dispute needs to be resolved in court or parents have discussions about what needs to change with each other, it is important to work these issues out without exposing children to legal complications or potentially contentious discussions.

The top priority in child custody cases is the well-being of children. Making sure they have a stable living situation, the support of loving parents and an age-appropriate understanding of their parents’ divorce is what matters most. Parents who want to make sure this happens should keep in mind all the ways they can include children or work on their behalf to pursue a positive parenting plan.