Child Custody Divorce

By Staff Writer

Child Custody Divorce Agreements
A child custody divorce agreement doesn't have to be difficult. If you begin talking with your spouse with the awareness that both of you will need access and communication with your children, some form of joint custody is the best solution. Sharing custody is always the most stress-free situation for the kids, unless there is any history of abuse. In cases of abuse, the courts will have a definitive ruling preventing the abusive parent access to the children, based on conclusive testimony and evidence.

The most common option is to split the children's time between the two parents on a 50-50 basis. If you opt for this kind of shared custody, you will probably parent your children pretty much the way you did before the divorce. The children will go back and forth between two homes, but the parents will be responsible for the children's lives in much the same way they did before the divorce. Other child custody agreements along this line divide the children's time on a 60-40 basis, or an 80-20 basis, depending on parents' work schedules, geographical locations of the homes, and the children's school and sports schedules.

Another Child Custody Divorce option is to give one parent primary physical custody, and giving the other parent very liberal visitation rights. Both of you would share equally in important decisions regarding your children's lives, and participate equally on vacations, family holidays, and trips. The advantages of this arrangement are when one parent has a very demanding job, or a job which takes him or her out of town often.

Do You Have To Agree on Everything?
You have the option of sharing important decisions concerning your children on some issues, but not on others. For example, your divorce and separation agreements may stipulate that both parents can decide about the children's education, but only one parent gets to decide about their religious affiliation. These are all issues which should be resolved before the divorce is filed, to avoid anger and feelings of betrayal after the divorce.