Child Custody

Do We Have To Follow Our Parenting Plan If We Agree Not To?

Parenting Plans are an order of the court, and as such, many parents feel like they must be followed to the letter, or they risk some form of legal consequence. While following court orders to the letter is a good instinct, it’s important that you read the entire order before determining what it requires of you.

Does my ex have to exercise the visitation provided in the parenting plan?

Typically, a parenting plan will outline visitation beginning with a phrase along the lines of "During the term of this Parenting Plan the non-custodial parent shall have at a minimum the following rights of parenting time." If so, the non-custodial parent is not required to exercise his or her visitation time, but is allowed to do so.

Where will my case be?

There are two issues surrounding where a case will be filed - jurisdiction and venue. There is a course in law school dedicated almost entirely to these issues (civil procedure), so unfortunately I can't give a comprehensive answer to the question that suits every situation. The general rule is that cases must be filed in the state and county where the person you're filing against lives, but divorce and family law have more exceptions to that rule than probably any other area of law.