Arkansas Parenting Plans (Custody Agreements)

After your divorce or separation, your child will benefit from frequent and continuing contact with both parents, and you'll all benefit from a parenting plan that'll help you and the other parent work together.

If you don't want the court to write your parenting plan for you, write it yourselves and ask the judge to approve it. It's easier when both of you agree. If you don't agree, you can each write a separate plan, and the court may approve one or take elements from both.

When and how to write a parenting plan

Make an effort to discuss your parenting plan in advance with the other parent. Most people don't think about submitting a parenting plan until their case has been ongoing for a while. Submitting one early can speed up your court process and save you money on a legal battle.

Your local circuit court may offer a template for parenting plans, but there isn't one that's used statewide in Arkansas.

Many parents use the Custody X Change parenting plan template. It has hundreds of suggested parenting rules, and it easily generates a document you can show to the other parent, bring to mediation or print for court.

What to cover: Custody

Regarding your responsibilities for major decision-making, the court prefers to award joint legal custody. Sometimes one parent gets responsibility for medical decisions while the other gets responsibility for schooling decisions. The court may simply award sole legal custody to just one parent.

Regarding caring for your child on a day-to-day basis, the court prefers to award joint physical custody. Even when one parent is given sole physical custody, the other usually has the right to significant time with the child.

Keep these court preferences in mind when writing a plan, especially if you're proposing one on your own. If you submit a plan together, the court is likely to approve the custody arrangement you agree on, as long as it isn't harmful to the child.

When you have joint custody, you may designate one parent as "primary." This is optional, but it can help settle questions that involve choosing one parent. For example, the child's public school district can be determined by the primary parent's address.

The court considers the child's best interests, including which parent is able to provide sufficient attention (especially to a young child) and a suitable home, as well as parent-child emotional bonds. The child's connections with other people — for example, at school and with siblings and extended family — are considered too.

The court doesn't give weight to either parent's gender nor to your religions (unless there's a specific harm posed to the child).

What to cover: Custody schedule

Write a custody schedule that's workable for everyone involved so you and the other parent have quality time with your child. Arkansas judges prefer equal time unless there's a reason for unequal time.

When you create a schedule in Custody X Change, the app pulls a visual and written description into your parenting plan. It also calculates each parent's time.

What to cover: Parenting rules

When you write parenting rules, strike a balance of being specific but also flexible. You can customize your wording and anticipate how your rules will change as your child grows.

Moving

Arkansas generally lets custodial parents move with their child unless the noncustodial parent gives the judge good reasons to deny relocation. If you have other ideas about potential future moves, lay out your arrangement in your plan.

Especially given that most parents will have joint custody, you could specify if you'll need permission from each other to move outside of Arkansas while raising your child.

One way to stay flexible is just to promise that you'll agree on any moves before they can occur.

Transferring your child at school

To exchange your child at an Arkansas school, one parent drops off the child and leaves, then the other arrives later and takes the child. Generally, you can't both show up at school at the same time for the exchange. Arkansas has a law about this to prevent parents from disrupting the school day with custody arguments. If you'll regularly exchange your child at school, you must seek the school principal's permission.

Keeping this in mind, you can write your expectations for school exchanges in your parenting plan. Add a custom provision:

Parent-child communication

There will be days when you'll want to contact your child while they're at their other parent's house. It's important that you both encourage your child to have a relationship with each of you. Say how often, and during what hours, you'll allow each other to call your child.

If you need to change your parenting plan

Once you have a court order, you can seek a modification in any of these situations:

• One of you has a significant change of circumstances (except for a situation you create with the intention of seeking a new custody order, like taking the child to another state).
• One of you intentionally isn't cooperating with the court order. For example, if one of you doesn't comply with joint custody, the court may give sole custody to the other.
• One of you didn't disclose relevant information to the court when you got your custody order, and the other just discovered it.

You can ask for the fee for requesting a modification to be waived if you can't afford it.

The easiest way to make a parenting plan

When you're writing a parenting plan, it's critical you use airtight language that leaves no room for interpretation. You must also be careful not to omit any information required by the court.

If you hire a lawyer, they'll write up the plan for you and ensure it meets the judge's expectations.

If you write your own plan, use technology to take guesswork out of the equation. The parenting plan template in the Custody X Change online app walks you through each step.

The result is a professional document that demonstrates your competence as a parent from the first glance.

The easiest and most reliable way to make a parenting plan is with Custody X Change.