What’s In A Washington State Parenting Plan?

For parents who divorce or otherwise split up, the most important document you have is your parenting plan.

This piece of paper lays out everything related to your child’s life moving forward. It includes custody arrangements, residential time, a visitation schedule, and all other details regarding your children. Because of that, it’s hugely important.

It’s also important to know what it contains and, perhaps even more important, what it should contain.

No two custody cases are ever the same. As a result, no two parenting plans will ever be identical. Under Washington law, there are no formal regulations governing what a parenting plan must look like or include.

What Is a Parenting Plan?

The court document that addresses custody matters is called a parenting plan.

These orders establish:

• Where a child lives;
• Which parent holds the decision-making authority?
• How much time do you spend together?
• Who controls choices about education, religion, medical care, and much more?

In short, if it involves custody, visitation, or childcare decisions, the parenting plan lays out the specifics. Because it defines how much involvement you have in your child’s life, these documents are massively important.

What Should a Parenting Plan Include?

While there’s no official legal blueprint for creating a parenting plan, there is an informal format. Again, specifics depend on the situation, but generally, parenting plans in Washington address the following areas.

Residential Schedule

The biggest piece of the custody plan puzzle is the residential schedule. This provides detailed information on where the child lives. Most often, the child spends most days with one parent and previously arranged days with the other.

How this breaks down varies, but one common pattern is the “every other weekend” formula. That oversimplifies the situation, but it gives you a general idea.

As the name infers, the child spends the bulk of the time with one parent but lives with the other on odd weekends.

It’s also common for the weekend parent to receive shorter visits during the week. Think a movie, a dinner, or a ball game and you get the idea. This also often depends on how close you and your ex live.

Though they get thrown around often in conversation, Washington doesn’t officially use the terms custody or visitation. Instead, parenting time is the legal designation. Despite the terminology, the parent with the most overnights is generally considered the parent with “custody,” while the other has “visitation.”

Holidays and Special Occasions

Parenting plans typically split holidays between the parents. They also usually alternate. For example, if you get your son on Christmas in even years, your ex may get him in odd years.

Your parenting plan most likely maps out who the child spends every holiday with. This includes biggies like Christmas and Thanksgiving, but also Memorial Day, Labor Day, and all the others. Maybe you like to go big on Arbor Day.

Most include accommodations for special occasions, such as Father’s Day and Mother’s Day. An allotment of vacation time is also usually included. They often include specific transportation details, drug and alcohol restrictions, and other elements.

School Breaks And Vacations

Kids count down the days to the major school breaks, but schedules can be difficult for parents after a divorce. Fortunately, the parenting plan should also break down where the child spends these vacations.

• • Winter: Winter breaks are often roughly two weeks long. In many cases, the parenting plan splits residential time between parents. You get your child in the first week, while your ex has week two, for example. If this is the case, again, it often alternates year to year.
  • Spring/Mid-Winter: Shorter in duration, spring and mid-winter breaks often alternate each year. This means that if you have residential time for spring break this year, your ex likely has it for spring break next year.
  • Summer: Because it’s so much longer, summer break differs from the other, shorter vacations. It’s usually not divided evenly between parties. In most cases, the schedule remains largely the same as during the school year, possibly with slight adjustments. It often includes allowances for family trips, activities, and similar expenses.

Decision Making

When a child is in your care, you have the ability to make immediate decisions. What to eat, where to go, that sort of thing.

But when it comes to major life choices, like education, health care, and even religion, among others, the parenting plan lays out who has final authority in those matters.

In most cases, parents share joint decision-making powers. This means they must work together to reach a conclusion. Depending on the circumstances, the parenting plan may limit this authority in specific areas or across the board. The document should also lay out the specific reasons for this.

How to Create a Parenting Plan

As noted, Washington doesn’t have a template for creating a parenting plan.

That said, these basics often serve as a starting point. Again, each case differs depending on the child’s needs and the specific details of the situation. But these are areas a parenting plan should and likely will address.

While this may be a jumping-off point, you must consider a wide number of variables.

Proximity, for example, has a huge impact.

It’s one thing if you live in West Seattle and your ex lives in Queen Anne. It’s something else entirely if you live in Seattle and your ex lives in Spokane. Those plans will, by necessity, look very different.

It’s also possible for parents to hash things out and come to an agreement on their own.

For instance, if your family places a huge emphasis on Thanksgiving, you may be able to negotiate to have your child for that holiday every year in exchange for concessions elsewhere.

In the end, however, the court must approve any deal you strike. They want to ensure a parenting plan serves the child’s best interests and doesn’t skew too heavily one way or the other. And as in most family law matters, it’s probably in your best interest to consult an attorney before anything becomes official.

Need help creating an effective parenting plan? Contact our Seattle office or fill out a free online case review today.

Related Reading: The Importance of Jurisdiction in Child Custody Cases