Going through a divorce or separation is never easy, especially for parents of young children. To help facilitate the best possible environment for the child, Minnesota encourages parents to come to a parenting plan that outlines parental rights and responsibilities. The Parenting Agreement Worksheet (Minnesota Version) is used to help parents put together an effective plan. Here, our Mankato family law attorneys provide an overview of Minnesota’s parenting agreement worksheet.
As far as the State of Minnesota is concerned, the primary purpose of a parenting plan is to ensure that a child’s needs are met. The first section of the worksheet pertains to legal custody of the child and parental decision making authority. Among other issues, this section of Minnesota’s parenting agreement worksheet is used to resolve:
A comprehensive, well-crafted parenting plan should outline how key parental decisions will be made on behalf of the child. There is a significant benefit to having a pre-agreed structure in place that helps bring clarity to difficult matters.
One of the biggest challenges for divorced/separated parents is determining a workable child-time sharing schedule. A parenting agreement should address physical custody of the child, including visitation. More specifically, this section of Minnesota’s parenting plan worksheet asks parents to consider the following:
The more detailed a child time-sharing schedule, the lower the risk of future disputes. While you can never plan everything ahead of time, it is highly recommended that you and your co-parent put a comprehensive, detailed schedule in place to help facilitate shared parenting.
Minnesota’s parenting plan worksheet also contains a section in which the parties can outline other points of agreement. If you and your former partner have issues that you want to include that do not quite fit into the other sections, you can still include them in your parenting plan.
Things change. Even the most effective of parenting plans may eventually become outdated. Minnesota encourages parents to establish a structure for making changes to their agreement to address any future needs. Among other things, this section should address:
At Kohlmeyer Hagen, Law Office Chtd., our Minnesota family lawyers are focused on providing solutions to parents. We have deep experience handling a wide range of custody matters. If you have any questions or concerns about parenting agreements, we can help. Call or contact us online for a completely confidential consultation. We provide family law services in Blue Earth County, Nicollet County, Le Sueur County, and throughout Southern Minnesota.
