You no longer love your wife, and she no longer loves you. That much is clear. What is not clear is how getting divorced will affect your children. It all depends on how well you and your spouse can put aside your mutual dislike and put your children’s needs first.
When you get a divorce in Fort Lauderdale, state laws require you and your partner to develop a parenting plan. A judge will then review it, and if happy, your divorce can go ahead. These are the basic things you need to cover in your parenting schedule:
- How you bring up the kids: Will they live mainly with one parent, or share time equally between both? Who will be responsible for picking them up from after school clubs? Who will attend parent meetings?
- How you will split time with your children: How will they get from one house to the other? How will you divide your time with the child? Will you swap every two weeks? Will you have them Monday to Friday and your spouse on the weekend? Make sure you include what happens at Christmas and in the holidays.
- Responsibility for health care and schooling: Who will decide which dentist, medic, or school your child goes to and who will pay?
- Communication: How will you communicate with your child when they are with the other parent and vice-versa?
The idea of a parenting plan is that you and your spouse take the time to work through everything that could occur and produce a plan to provide a stable future for your child. A Fort Lauderdale family law attorney can help ensure you cover everything.