When you and your former partner decided to part ways, it’s likely that part of your divorce agreement included a plan for co-parenting your children. Although your child custody plan may have worked immediately after your divorce, over time children grow and family dynamics change.
As time passes, it’s important to reflect on your custody agreement and ensure it’s still working for everyone involved.
Assess your child’s development
As children get older, they expand their interests to include new friends, activities and academics. What once was an appropriate agreement for your child can quickly feel outdated when sports and friends replace the need for daycare or after-school supervision. Whether your child requires a tutor or a violin lesson, it’s important for your custody plan to be appropriate.
When it comes to providing your child with parental care and attention, it’s always smart to serve the child’s best interests first. As your child gets older, he or she may develop preferences that make it necessary to update an existing custody agreement.
Evaluate time constraints
Like your child, you and your former spouse are also developing personally and professionally. Perhaps in the time since your divorce, one of you was promoted to a demanding position that requires more time at work, or one of you has moved to the other side of town. In both cases, you may need to update an existing custody plan. Doing so will also prevent missed or canceled visitation times and the disputes that often result.
Making modifications to a child custody agreement does not have to feel overwhelming. For the legal assistance you need, consult a skilled Tampa Bay family law attorney at the Law Office of K. Dean Kantaras.