Unmarried Parents and Child Custody

Unmarried parents who are no longer together usually have custody issues to work out. Once the paternity of the father has been resolved (sometimes, unmarried fathers won't acknowledge or don't know that a child is theirs--the mother can go to court and have an order for a paternity test for the father. This should clear up any doubt.) the couple needs to find a way to divide the responsibility of raising their children. Both parents have the right to custody and visitation, and both parents have the obligation of providing for the child physically, financially, emotionally, etc.

The best way for both parents to have fair time with the child and to make sure their rights as the mother and father are protected is to create a solid parenting plan. The parenting plan, or custody agreement, can be taken to court and the court will make it a court order. This makes the plan legally binding for both parties and ensures the well-being of the children. The parenting plan should include a custody and visitation schedule, a holiday schedule, and any parenting provisions the parents want included. (Child support is not included in the parenting plan, but there are child support papers that the parents must fill out to make sure that the child is cared for financially.)

This is where Custody X Change can help.

Custody X Change is custody software that helps parents create a parenting plan or custody agreement. With the software it is easy to set up a custody and visitation schedule. You simply enter in a repeating cycle and make any custody modification to the calendar you want. The program gives you the time-share percentage and overnight percentage that the children are with each parent and this makes it easy to set up a schedule with fair visitation. (The time-share percentage is also vital for figuring out child support and making sure the calculated payments are correct.) In addition to the basic custody and visitation schedule, parents can add in a holiday schedule, vacation time, and special events. Along with the calendar, the parents can select or write their own parenting provisions to be included. All of this prints out into professional documents that show the schedule (in calendar and document form), the provisions and a time-share percentage report. The information can also be exported to Word or PDF to make any changes you want. These documents can be used to present your case to the court, to prepare for mediation, or to work with the other parent to create a schedule both of you like.

Here are some ways that Custody X Change has helped other parents:

Staci used Custody X Change to prepare her case and win in court.

"It can be tailored made to fit your unique schedule with holidays and vacations, plus it breaks the time share down so you can come up with a true shared parenting schedule. It helped me so much and I was pro se against a family law specialist, the judge adopted my plan that I came up with using custody exchange. Thank you so much it was invaluable."

Stacie Staples
Arroyo Grande, CA

Doug found that Custody X Change let him set up the perfect schedule and to get the other parent to agree to it.

"I found the software very easy to use. It's flexible, making a tough job with a tricky schedule easier to work out. It's set up around my work schedule which is pretty crazy, but your software made it easy to setup, and I was able to get her to agree to it. I gave her a copy of the schedule, and now there are no arguments over scheduled parenting times."

Doug Hayes
Franklin, OH

Chimena used Custody X Change to work with the other parent and to save time and money.

"I used Custody X Change extensively during renegotiations for Summer and Holiday visitation. The software was very easy to use and manage which also provided useful custody information calculated from the agreed schedule. The software also spared us from having to do the tedious task of counting days on a calendar. I would recommend this product to any parent who has to establish a custody schedule with another parent. The interface is simple, yet thorough."

Chimena T.
San Diego, CA

Unmarried fathers and mothers have custody rights too. Stand up for your rights and create a parenting plan that is the best for your child. Download a free trial of Custody X Change and see how it can help you.