If you divorced years earlier when your children were very young, you likely are finding out that its restrictions no longer apply to your busy and growing family. It’s natural for children to outgrow the parenting plan originally signed into law for your custody case.
The good news is that courts not only understand this is a common issue among divorced couples but are prepared to work with you to modify your custody agreement to reflect your present circumstances.
Can’t parents make informal changes?
They can and may do so without any major problems. But the problem with these casual arrangements is that if there is ever a problem and the parents no longer agree on these changes, one parent could file contempt of court charges against their co-parent for deviating from the court-approved custody agreement.
All decisions should reflect what’s best for the kids
That’s the criteria on which the courts must base their custody decisions, and they will expect the parents to do so as well. For instance, if a parent moves across the country to take a better job, the trade-off will be that they don’t get to be with their kids every other weekend. They must devise a different plan to continue to be able to spend time with their offspring.
Including older teens in the plan
By the time your teen gets to high school, they will probably be busy with extracurricular activities, sports teams and part-time jobs. They may resent having to spend every other weekend away from friends and their activities.
That doesn’t mean that they are free to discard the custody plan because it is now inconvenient for them. But courts may take into consideration any suggestions or input they may offer to reach an amenable solution.