PARENTING PLANS
Separation Changes Your Relationship. It Shouldn’t Leave Your Children Caught in the Middle.
When you separate, one of the biggest questions is often:
What happens with the kids?
Where will they live?
How will parenting time work?
What happens on holidays?
Who makes important decisions?
What if schedules change?
You do not need to have all of those answers before you begin mediation.
A Parenting Plan helps you create a clear, practical structure for how you will continue parenting after separation — so everyone knows what to expect and your children have as much consistency as possible.
At Divorce Is Simple, we help you work through those decisions together and create parenting arrangements that make sense for your family.
Divorce doesn’t have to be a battle.
What Is a Parenting Plan?
A Parenting Plan is a written agreement that outlines how separated parents will care for their children and make decisions moving forward.
Every family is different, so there is no single Parenting Plan that works for everyone.
Your plan can be as straightforward or as detailed as your family requires.
IT MAY ADDRESS THINGS LIKE
Where the children will live
Parenting schedules
Weekdays and weekends
School holidays
Summer vacation
Christmas, March Break and other holidays
Birthdays and special occasions
Pick-ups and drop-offs
Travel arrangements
Communication between parents
Communication with the children when they are with the other parent
School and extracurricular activities
Medical and healthcare decisions
Education decisions
Religious or cultural considerations
Decision-making responsibilities
How future changes or disagreements will be handled
The goal is not to create rules for every possible situation.
The goal is to create enough clarity that both parents understand what has been agreed upon and have a framework to rely on moving forward.
You Don’t Have to Agree on Everything First
Many parents assume they need to work out their parenting schedule before coming to mediation.
You don’t.
That is part of what mediation is for.
You may agree on the big picture but disagree about weekends.
You may have different ideas about holidays.
One parent may want more structure while the other prefers flexibility.
Or you may simply have no idea what a realistic parenting arrangement should look like after separation.
We help you slow the conversation down, identify the decisions that need to be made and work through them one at a time.
OUR SERVICES
What Does a Good Parenting Plan Do?
It Creates Consistency
Children benefit from knowing what their routine looks like and when they will be spending time with each parent.
A clear schedule can reduce uncertainty for everyone.
It Reduces Future Conflict
When important arrangements are written down, there is less room for misunderstandings about what was agreed upon.
It Covers More Than a Weekly Schedule
Parenting involves much more than deciding where the children sleep.
A comprehensive plan can also address holidays, travel, school, extracurricular activities, healthcare, communication and important decisions.
It Can Grow With Your Family
Children’s needs change.
A Parenting Plan can include a process for reviewing arrangements and dealing with future changes without immediately creating another conflict.
Parenting Time
One of the first things parents often want to understand is how parenting time will work.
There is no automatic schedule that applies to every family.
During mediation, we help you work through what is practical for your family rather than trying to force your circumstances into a standard template.
The right arrangement can depend on many things, including:
The age of your children
Their school schedule
Each parent’s work schedule
Where each parent lives
Existing routines
Extracurricular activities
The children’s individual needs
How parenting responsibilities were handled before separation
Holidays and Special Occasions
Week-to-week schedules are only one part of a Parenting Plan.
Discussing these arrangements in advance can make future holidays much easier for everyone.
We can also help you address holidays and important dates, including:
Christmas and other religious holidays
Thanksgiving
March Break
Summer holidays
Birthdays
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day
Long weekends
Family events
Vacation time
Decision-Making
Parents also need to consider how important decisions relating to their children will be made.
Mediation gives you the opportunity to discuss how those decisions will be handled and what happens if you disagree in the future.
Depending on your circumstances, your Parenting Plan may address decisions involving:
Education
Medical and dental care
Extracurricular activities
Religion
Major lifestyle decisions
Communication Between Parents
You do not need to become best friends after separation.
Putting a structure around communication can help prevent small issues from becoming bigger ones.
A Parenting Plan can establish expectations around:
Christmas and other religious holidays
Thanksgiving
March Break
Summer holidays
Birthdays
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day
Long weekends
Family events
Vacation time
What About Child Support?
Parenting arrangements and child support are separate issues, although they may form part of the same overall separation process.
During mediation, we can help you work through parenting arrangements alongside discussions about child support, Section 7 expenses and other financial considerations where applicable.
The goal is to deal with the full picture rather than treating each issue in isolation.
Parenting Plans in Burlington & Oakville
Divorce Is Simple helps parents in Burlington, Oakville and across Ontario create clear, practical Parenting Plans through family mediation.
Whether you are just beginning your separation or already agree on many of the parenting arrangements, we can help you work through the details and document a plan that reflects the needs of your family.
Our Parenting Plans can address parenting time, holidays, decision-making responsibilities, travel, communication, school arrangements and other practical issues that arise when parents separate.
Parenting Plans are included in our divorce mediation packages, so you can work through parenting, financial and separation matters as part of one coordinated process.
What If We Already Agree on Parenting?
That’s great.
You may not need extensive mediation around parenting if you are already largely on the same page.
We can help make sure the arrangements are clearly documented and incorporated into your overall separation agreement.
Sometimes the value is not in negotiating from scratch.
It is simply making sure everyone is clear about what has been agreed upon.
What If We Don’t Agree?
That’s okay too.
You do not have to arrive at mediation with a finished Parenting Plan.
We help you identify where you agree, where you disagree and what decisions still need to be made.
Rather than trying to solve every issue at once, we work through them in a structured way.