Georgia uncontested divorce parenting plans

Georgia Uncontested Divorce Parenting Plans

In any divorce in Georgia in which there is a minor child born to the parties or adopted by the parties, a Parenting Plan is required.  Parenting Plans have been required in Georgia since January 1, 2008.  A Parenting Plan is required in both a contested or an uncontested divorce.  The main difference between uncontested divorce Parenting Plans and those for a contested divorce is that the parents create their own Parenting Plan while the judge will create a Parenting Plan in a contested divorce if the parents cannot agree.

There are several major components of an uncontested divorce Parenting Plans and they vary from case to case.  However, the major elements that make up any Parenting Plan must comply with Georgia law and must be in the best interest of the minor child for whom the Plan is written.

Georgia Law requires that every Parenting Plan contain the following specific provisions that the parties understand and agree to:

  1. We recognize that a close and continuing parent-child relationship and continuity in the child’s life is in the child’s best interest.
  2. We recognize that our child’s needs will change and grow as the child matures; we have made a good faith effort to take these changing needs into account so that the need for future modifications to the parenting plan is minimized.
  3.  We recognize that the parent with physical custody will make the day-to-day decisions and emergency decisions while the child is residing with such parent.
  4.  Should the parents disagree about this parenting plan or wish to modify it, they must make a reasonable good faith effort to resolve the issue between them before filing any action with any court.

Some Details about a Parenting Plan for a Georgia Uncontested Divorce

Legal Custody, Dispute Resolution, Physical Custody, a detailed Visitation schedule and the Point of Exchange of the child for co-parenting/visitation are the main elements for the Parenting Plan.  Other issues such as payment of the costs of visitation should also be addressed in the Plan.

We normally recommend that visitation be simply be as the parties agree.  However, Georgia law requires that the Parenting Plan have a detailed, written visitation schedule.  This is in case the parties do not agree in the future.

In an uncontested divorce, the Parenting Plan is agreed to by the parents and must also be approved the the Court.  We can advise you and assist you in agreeing to and writing an uncontested divorce Parenting Plan that will fit your situation and be in the best interest of your child/children.

If there are multiple minor children, a single Parenting Plan will suffice.  You will not need a separate parenting plan for each child unless you are separating the children so that one lives with one parent and one lives with the other parent.  In that event, it may be best to have two separate Parenting Plans.  However, it is our general preference to write a single Parenting Plan to cover all of the children in the uncontested divorce matters that we handle.

Getting Help with Georgia Uncontested Divorce

If you have a minor child born to or adopted by you and your spouse and you have questions about  a Parenting Plan in an uncontested Georgia divorce, feel free to call an experienced Georgia divorce attorney at (855) 353-4727.  We suggest that you first submit our Client Inquiry form.