You mean you still have to work with your ex on issues regarding the kids after the divorce has been finalized? Imagine that!
Some clients wonder why I encourage them to choose a divorce process that will allow them to be able to (and even want to) communicate with their ex post-divorce. Extra-curricular activities often consume a great deal of your kids’ out-of-school time. It is helpful if you have a good working co-parenting relationship with your ex, because it will then be more likely that you will cooperate to get the kids where they need to go, on time.
Think about answering some or all of these questions and placing them in your written agreement:
- Will both parents’ consent be required prior to registering a child in an activity? What if the activity only impacts on one parent’s parenting time – will mutual consent still be required?
- What if you cannot agree? One idea is that you can provide that the registration is permitted, but the parent who wants the registration will have to bear the entire cost.
- If the child is ultimately registered, but there was disagreement on registration, is the non-agreeing parent responsible for ensuring that the child participates in the activity during their parenting time?
- Is there a limit to the number of activities a child may be registered in at any given time?
- Are both parents permitted to communicate with the facilitators of the activity?
- Are both parents permitted to attend the activity at the same time?
These are some of the questions you may want to think about as you plan for your co-parenting future. The more you and your ex co-operate regarding children’s issues, the less stressed your children will be! I’m sure that your children would love to have both their parents participate in their activities. Give them this pleasure.
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