Parenting Plans

A parenting plan is an agreement that sets out the time that each parent will have with the child. It also deals with how decisions about the child’s life will be made. Parenting plans can be tailored to best suit the individual needs of the family. They may be incorporated into a court order or stand alone as an agreement between parents.

When an application is made for a parenting order under the Divorce Act, the parties can submit a parenting plan. The court must include it in the parenting order unless it is not in the best interests of the child. If it is not in the best interests of the child, the court can modify it and then include it. A parenting plan does not need to be in a particular form to be submitted to the court as part of an application for a parenting order.

When an application for a parenting order is made under The Children’s Law Act, details about the proposed parenting arrangement can be included in the application itself. For more information about when each of these laws apply, see Family Law Basics.

Some parents who have separated have trouble communicating with each other. A parenting plan can include detailed information about how and when the parents will communicate. This protects the child from conflict between their parents.

Parents need to give some thought to the details of how:

• each parent will spend time with the child
• decisions will be made
• information will be shared
• disputes regarding parenting issues will be resolved

In addition to determining day-to-day or week-to-week schedules, parents should also turn their attention to holidays and other special times and how those times will be spent.

Parenting plans may also include guidelines for general behaviour regarding the parents’ conduct towards one another in order to minimize conflict and focus on the best interests of the child. Parents may want to include guidelines around future moves, including things like notice and whether the parent who is moving needs the permission of the other parent. If there is a lot of conflict, the parents may wish to address each point of the agreement in detail. Parents that are able to communicate well may be able to leave the exact details of the agreement to be worked out between the parties as they go.

This checklist provides an outline of things parents may want or need to deal with in their parenting plan.

Parents need to decide for themselves what they want and need to include in their parenting plan. The list that follows includes some of the more common issues that parents may want to address. Some parenting plans will need to address issues not listed here while others may not include all of the issues listed here. The situation of every family is unique.

• Decision-Making – including who will make the decisions, whether there is a duty to consult or to inform the other parent and what will happen if parents who share decision-making cannot agree
• Residence – including whether the child will live mostly with one parent or share time between the parents
• Change of Residence – what happens if either parent decides to move, including notice and permission requirements
• Parenting Time – when each parent will see the child
• Activities – including attendance, supervision and transportation
• Holidays and Special Occasions – whether there will be changes to the regular parenting schedule
• Parenting Exchanges – who is responsible for drop-off and pick-up and where this will take place
• Communication With Third Parties – how communication with schools, daycares, teams and so on will take place
• Communication Between Parents and Child – how and when information concerning the child and the parenting arrangement will be communicated between the parents, as well as how the parents will communicate with the child while the child is in the other parent’s care
• Conduct – rules concerning the behaviour of the parents towards each other and the child
• Disputes – how disputes concerning the parenting arrangement will be resolved such as with the help of a mediator
• Changes – how and when the parenting plan can be modified

The Agreement Maker that is part of Family Law Saskatchewan can be used to create a parenting plan. The Parenting Plan Tool developed by the Department of Justice Canada can also be used to do this. Both of these tools guide people through the process by including details about all the key aspects of a parenting plan. They give people numerous options within each area to tailor a parenting plan that works for them. The Agreement Maker can also be used to deal with other issues, such as support and division of property, at the same time.