Texas law generally recognizes the fact that joint custody is in a child’s best interest. This is because it allows a young person to maintain strong and rewarding relationships with both of his or her parents. Take a look at what you can do to make a parenting plan work as effectively and smoothly as possible.
Remember that you’re supposed to do what is best for your kids
It’s important to understand that joint custody doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll share parenting time with your former partner equally. Depending on your work schedule, living arrangements or other factors, you might need to settle for seeing your children mostly on weekends or during school breaks. It may also be necessary to settle for phone calls, video chats or other types of contact in lieu of overnight visits or formal outings with your son or daughter.
Don’t be afraid to be flexible
As a general rule, a parenting plan can be as flexible as you and your child’s other parent need it to be. In most cases, judges will allow changes to such a plan assuming that they are in the child’s best interest. For instance, as your son or daughter gets older, he or she might have school activities, a job or other commitments that makes it difficult to stick to a rigid custody schedule. Therefore, it may be necessary to plan events on days when your child isn’t working or doesn’t have sports or music practice. In some cases, it may be necessary to create a new child custody schedule on a weekly or monthly basis to accommodate other commitments.
It can be difficult or impossible to avoid conflicts while raising a child regardless of how well you get along with your former spouse or partner. If you are having trouble resolving a conflict, it may be a good idea to speak with a family law attorney. He or she may be able to help resolve a dispute in a timely and amicable manner.