Legal advice on Parenting plans and divorce

The basics of an uncontested divorce. Is an uncontested divorce right for you?

Custody Problems During the Holidays Even a shared custody arrangement that works smoothly during the school year can be thrown into disarray by the holiday season and all of its demands. Maybe it’s the scenes in the twinkling, fireplace-lit TV commercials, maybe it’s your own memories of perfect, or less-than-perfect holidays past, but there’s a lot of pressure on parents at this time of year to come up with something “magical,” or at least memorable. What It Was and What It Doesn't Have to Be When I became a family law attorney, I got a front row seat to all of the strife that families go through over custody arrangements, and all of that seems to get magnified during the holiday season. But the truth is, it doesn’t have to be. With communication, advance planning, and a willingness to sometimes set your own emotions aside and let the better angels take the wheel. Here’s my simple, four-point plan for keeping joy in the holidays, even after a divorce: 1. Hide the Battle Scars like You Hide the Gifts There’s plenty of time to argue all year round. But treat the holidays in your personal life as you would treat them in your work life: take the day off. Setting aside differences can be hard, but if there’s ever a time to take the high road, the holiday season is it. Remember: holidays are not ordinary days; they’re supposed to be special. Even when you’re not getting what you want, take the message of Thanksgiving into your heart, and practice gratitude: be thankful for those things you do have. Some people are unable to even have children at all, so concentrate on the big picture. 2. Spell Out a Clear Plan, and Stick to It Decide who gets the children for which holiday as far in advance as possible, and understand what the expectations are for each parent. Often, sticking points arise because someone wants to make one. But maybe you can take turns, and say to your ex, Christmas can be yours this year, but it’s mine next year. It may be tough, but it doesn’t have to be a Greek tragedy. And don’t forget, Christmas is often more meaningful to kids than it is to parents. What’s important is to relax and do some fun things, even if they’re simple. In other words, you don’t have to spend an entire day trudging through an expensive, exhausting theme park. Sometimes, just relaxing at home while cutting out paper snowflakes and eating the whole box of cookies might make for a great holiday memory. 3. Have a Fallback Plan if Something Falls Through Winter weather grounds airline flights, people get colds and flu. Job one is to be the parent who’s flexible and understanding (even through gritted teeth). Line up family or friends who can pinch hit as babysitters, or set aside a bit of emergency money to help cope with unexpected costs, like a flight cancellation fee. If these sorts of cancellations are a regular occurrence — maybe even the thing that led to the divorce in the first place — you don’t have to just put up or shut up all year round. But maybe just during the holidays, postpone your frustration. You can fight over it later. Being the parent who drops everything for the sake of their kids while your spouse has an unplanned diversion might seem like an unfair burden, but your sacrifices will be worthwhile, because kids deserve a holiday. 4. Broaden Your View of the Calendar Christmas is just one day. It may be tough to not spend it with your child, but if you can do a different December weekend with ice skating, tree trimming, or hot chocolate, those things will count in your child’s bank of holiday memories too. Or start now on advance-planning a weeklong summer camping trip. Don’t put too much emphasis on a single day; think of the holidays as an entire season, and more importantly, think of your relationship with your child as a lifelong affair.

In this legal training video, Knoxville attorney Jed McKeehan discuss whether abandonment is a grounds for divorce. Learn more about this legal topic and others at http://attorney-knoxville.com. Follow us online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JedMcKeehan/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jedmckeehan #knoxvilleattorney #attorneyknoxville #insession

The Parenting Statute and 50/50 The Parentage Act, as amended, does not cast much light on when or whether the Court should enter a 50/50 parenting plan. The only provision that comes close is RCW 26.09.187(3)(b), which provides that the Court may order that a child frequently alternate his residence between the parents for brief and substantially equal intervals of time when such an arrangement is in the child's best interest. Therefore, the Court will order, or not order, a 50/50 plan based on the same criteria it would order an unequal parenting plan. Parenting Plan Criteria The Court is supposed to devise a parenting plan based on the following factors: 1. Strength, nature, stability of child's relationship to parent 2. Any agreements 3. Past and potential for future performance of parenting functions 4. Emotional needs and developmental level of child 5. Child's relationships, school, and activities 6. Wishes of parent and child who is sufficiently mature to express her wishes 7. Each parent's employment schedule. How Do I Get 50/50 If My Spouse Doesn't Agree A Court certainly could order a 50/50 parenting plan over one of the parties' objections, but I have never personally seen it. (I have seen plans that are very close to 50/50 when the objecting party wanted 75/25 or whatever). To get 50/50, you have to convince the Court that 50/50 is in the child's best interest. To do that, demonstrate that both parties always split the parenting functions 50/50 when they were together, and there is no reason to assume they couldn't continue to do so now that they are apart.

Complaint for Divorce A Complaint for Divorce is first document filed with the court. It puts your spouse (and the Court) on notice that you are seeking a divorce from your spouse. You will also need a summons issued by the Court. The summons, along with the complaint for divorce (and notice of the statutory restraining order) must be served on your spouse. Be careful in preparing your own complaint for divorce; Tennessee law requires specific things to be included in the complaint. COBRA Notice A COBRA Notice is a notice given to your spouse regarding health insurance coverage. Filing a COBRA notice is a requirement in divorce proceedings in Tennessee, regardless of whether neither spouse has health insurance on the other, or whether neither party has health insurance. However, it is most important in situations where one spouse is carrying health insurance on the other. If one spouse is on the other spouse's health insurance, a COBRA Notice notifies the spouse that 30 days after the divorce is finalized, their insurance will cancel unless the coverage has a COBRA provision and the spouse takes steps toward COBRA protection. A COBRA Notice is required to be served on the other spouse and filed with the Court. Marital Dissolution Agreement A Marital Dissolution Agreement (MDA) is a required document in order to finalize an uncontested divorce. It is further required to divide all marital assets and debts. It is also the document that addresses alimony, or spousal support. Although the document seems simple, there are provisions (such as a notice regarding creditors) that are required to be included. It is worth the relatively small cost to hire an attorney to prepare this document correctly as opposed to the high cost of hiring an attorney to fix this document. Permanent Parenting Plan A Permanent Parenting Plan (PPP) is only necessary in the event that there are minor children born of the marriage. However, the PPP is a fairly complicated document. Attempting to prepare this document without an attorney could prove costly, even if no problems occur until years down the road. A blank PPP is generally available in the Chancery/Circuit Court Clerk's Office. Child Support Worksheet Child Support worksheets are only necessary in the event that there are minor children born of the marriage. These are required to be attached to the Permanent Parenting Plan and made in accordance with the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines. Parenting Class Certificate Filing a Parenting Class Certificate with the Court is only necessary if there are minor children born of the marriage. This document is to notify the Court that you have completed a seminar for divorcing parents on how to separate divorce issues from parenting issues. This course is four hours in length and provides guidance on how to communicate with your kids, ex-spouse, and ex-spouse in the presence of the kids. Agreed Order to Set Final Hearing This is a document that needs to be signed by both parties indicating the day an time that the court will hold your final hearing and finalize your divorce (so long as you have properly prepared and filed all necessary documents with the Court). Final Decree of Divorce This is the document that the Judge signs to finalize the divorce on the day of the final hearing. It is required in all divorces and must contain specific language. Once the Complaint for Divorce has been on file for 60 days (90 days if there are minor children born of the marriage), the COBRA Notice has been filed and served, the MDA has been signed and filed with the court, the PPP and child support worksheet have been signed and filed with the Court (if minor children of the marriage), the Parenting Class Certificate has been filed with the Court, and the Agreed Order to Set has been signed by the Judge, the Final Decree of Divorce should be signed by both parties and filed with the Court prior to the final hearing. It is important to hire an attorney to prepare this document, as specific language included could prevent costly lawyer's fees in the future (common theme: spend a little now or a lot later). Certificate of Divorce A certificate of Divorce is filled out prior to the Final Hearing and given to the Court after the divorce is finalized. The information therein is statistical in nature and given to the department of public health-division of vital records.

In this legal training video, Knoxville attorney Jed McKeehan discusses whether Step Parents Have Visitation Rights. Learn more about this legal topic and others at http://attorney-knoxville.com. Follow us online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JedMcKeehan/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jedmckeehan #knoxvilleattorney #attorneyknoxville #insession