In the last two posts we’ve looked at some common custody stipulations that parents include in their parenting plans and custody agreements. Here’s a final post that looks at a few more of those stipulations.
1. Contact between the parents and the children. These custody stipulations setup rules that the parents must follow about how they contact and interact with the children. The parents can include a stipulation that outlines when it is appropriate for a parent to call the children when the children are at the other parent’s house, if the parent and the child can communicate in other ways, if the parents want to setup telephone visits, etc. Parents can also choose to include stipulations that say the parents will not use the children as a messenger and the parents will not speak negatively about the other parent in front of the children.
2. Prohibiting certain substances and practices in front of the child. If necessary, the parents can include stipulations that require the parents not drink alchohal a certain number of hours or days before caring for the child and that the child not be exposed to tobacco smoke. The parents can also include a provision that requires either parent to submit to random drug testing. These should only be used if a parent has had a problem in the past.
3. Preventing future dispute and argument. Parents generally include, and some courts require parents to include, a provision that spells out how the parents will resolve future disputes and make changes to the custody agreement and schedule.
Remember that you should include stipulations in your agreement for anything you want the other parent to follow or agree to. If it isn’t part of your custody agreement, the other parent is not obligated in any way. Think carefully about some stipulations that can help your situation work better and put those in your parenting plan.