The Nebraska Parenting Act requires that a parenting plan is created for legal issues involving the custody of a child. While parents may choose to include a number of different agreements in their plan, there are some provisions that are required to be included.
Below are 10 items which must be included in a parenting plan:
- Legal and Physical Custody. Your plan must state who has legal custody (the authority to make fundamental decisions on behalf of the child) and who has physical custody. Examples of some arrangements include the parents have joint legal custody while dad has physical custody, and to mom has parenting time. Or, mom has legal custody and the parents share joint physical custody. Regardless of the legal and physical custody arrangement, it must be clear
- Routine Parenting Time. Your plan must state with specificity when and how your child will be transferred between households. This includes specific times, transportation, and how the parents will communicate each other to facilitate the logistics. You may also include a provision providing for flexibility in the schedule if both parents are in agreement.
- Holiday Parenting Time. Your plan must list annual holidays and set forth the schedule for whom your child will spend that holiday with each year. This provision should also include whether holiday parenting time takes priority over routine parenting time and when the holiday parenting time starts and stops.
- Vacation Parenting Time. Vacation parenting time for both parents must be detailed in your plan. A typical plan usually provides for each parent to have two weeks (14 days) of vacation parenting annually. However, you and your co-parent are free to agree on fewer or more vacation days.
- Medical and School Records. Your plan should include a provision stating that each parent’s name will appear on all medical and school records for your child, and that each parent shall have access to all records without assistance from the other parent.
- School Attendance. There must be a provision in your plan stating that both parents will ensure regular and continuous school attendance and progress when the children are of school-age.
- Day-to-Day Decisions. You should include details on how day-to-day decisions regarding your child are made so that those decisions are consistent with the decisions made by whoever has legal custody.
- Safety Provisions. Specific provisions must be included to maximize the safety of all parties and the child if child abuse or neglect, intimate partner abuse, parental conflict, or criminal activity affecting the child is involved.
- Remediation. Your plan should have a requirement that you and your co-parent agree to remediate any (or all) of your plan in the event it becomes unworkable or if either parent wishes to make modifications.
- Relocation of a Parent. Your plan should provide that each parent agrees to provide the other with change of address information, unless a parent is relocating because of safety concerns. Also, a parent may not move a child from Nebraska without the court’s permission.
All provisions in your plan, whether required or agreed upon by you and your co-parent, must be in your child’s best interests. Contact your Koenig│Dunne attorneys to help tailor your plan to your unique circumstances that will best support you and your family.
