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Your Software is Great

"I just want to let you know that your software is great and easy to use. My son’s mom and I don’t agree on much, but we do try to make adjustments to accommodate my son’s many activities. It is great to get my son’s baseball schedule in March, look at my Custody Xchange calendar, and know that what nights in April, May, and June we are going to switch. Thanks again."

Frank Ryan
Meriden, CT

The Judge Adopted my Plan

"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

I Recommend it to Other Family Law Practitioners

"I have used the Custody X Software in some complicated custody cases and have found it a very useful tool. Many people are very visual and the ability to lay out custody schedules years in advance has been helpful. I have found the software very easy to use and would highly recommend it to other family law practitioners."

Meredith W. Ditchen
Woodstock, GA
www.ditchenlaw.com

New Mexico Parenting Plan

Custody X Change can help you create a
parenting plan in New Mexico.

How to Create Your Parenting Plan in
New Mexico (NM)

Your parenting plan is the most important document in your child custody situation. The parenting plan outlines all of the information about how you and the child's other parent will continue to care for the child after a divorce or separation. It is vital that parents take the time to create a detailed, well-thought out plan that centers around the best interests of their children. Here are some things to consider for parents making a parenting plan in New Mexico.

What to Include in a Parenting Plan

Your parenting plan should include information about how parents will divide parental responsibility and share time with the children.

Legal custody refers to the parent's rights to make decisions for and about their child. This includes decisions about education, child care, religion, medical and dental care, etc. When the children are older it includes decisions about driving, working part time, extra-curricular activities, school functions, etc.
In sole legal custody, one parent has the right to make decisions about the child.
In joint legal custody the parents share this responsibility. The parents can divide the decisions between them or they can consult each other about all of the issues.
Physical custody refers to how the parents share the time with the children. Parents need to figure out where their children will live during the week, on weekends, during holidays, vacation time, etc.
In sole physical custody, the child lives with one parent and has visitation with the other parent.
In a joint physical custody arrangement, the child spends substantial time living with both parents. The time doesn't have to be exactly split in half in joint physical custody.

So, Your Parenting Plan Needs to Have

The type of legal and physical custody the parents have chosen (parents may have joint legal custody without joint physical custody),
A custody and visitation schedule that shows when the child is with each parent,
A holiday and vacation schedule,
How the parents will make decisions for the child,
Provisions that the parents want to include about parenting, and
Any other information the parents want to include concerning the child custody arrangements.

New Mexico Parenting Plans

New Mexico parents may collaborate on a parenting plan and submit it to the court. In most cases, the court will accept this plan.
If parents are not able to agree, the court will decide about the custody arrangements.
In New Mexico, there is a presumption that joint custody is in the best interest of the child. This doesn't necessarily mean that parents will get equal time with the children, or that parents will have equal financial responsibility towards the children.
If a parent wants sole custody they must prove to the court that the child will benefit from sole custody and explain the harm that joint custody will cause.
When the court makes decisions about what is in the best interest of the child, they consider the wishes of the parents and the child; the relationship the child has with each parent; the relationships the child has with siblings; the adjustment of the child to school, home, and community; and the mental and physical health of everyone involved.
As parents create their parenting plans, they should also consider the above factors.

How Custody X Change Can Help

Custody X Change is custody software that helps parents create a parenting plan. The software makes it easy to put in all of the necessary information so that your plan can be accepted by the court. With the software, you can:

Create your custody and visitation schedule by making a repeating cycle of custody, a holiday schedule, and adding in any vacation time and special events.
See the exact timeshare percentage that each parent has with the children when you set up your schedule.
Include information about how legal custody will be divided.
Add extra parenting provisions and stipulations into your plan.
Print professional documents of the entire parenting plan, including a written form of the custody and visitation schedule, a calendar of the custody and visitation schedule, the detailed time-share and overnight percentage report, and the list of provisions the parents have included.
Track actual visitation, keep a journal about visitation, and print a report that shows the difference between scheduled and actual visitation time.
Export all of the documents to Word, PDF, and Excel.
Sync the custody calendar to your Blackberry, iPhone, Palm/PDA, Outlook, Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar, Windows Live, etc.

Custody X Change Helps Parents in New Mexico

Look at options for the custody and visitation schedule and make a joint custody schedule to go in the parenting plan.
Include provisions for the plan that clarify details and make the plan better fit the needs of the child.
Ease conflict when working with the other parent to make a joint parenting plan.
Show multiple example plans at mediation or when meeting with the other parent.
Prepare and present a plan in court and use the documents to show why it is in the child's best interest.
Make a sole custody schedule and plan and use the documents to show the court why it is in the best interest of the child.
Save money in legal fees by creating the plan on your own or with the other parent.
Determine the right amount of child support using the accurate timeshare percentage calculation.
Keep a custody journal about visitation and other matters.
Track the actual amount of parenting time so you know the schedule is being followed.
Easily make changes to the plan as the child grows older and the needs change.
Settle the custody matters so you can enjoy your time with the children.

You can get a free thirty day trial of Custody X Change by entering your name and email at the top of the page. Join the others in New Mexico who have found the way to make the best parenting plan.

The top thirteen cities in New Mexico (by population, US Census Bureau, 2008) are: Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Roswell, Farmington, South Valley, Alamogordo, Clovis, Hobbs, Carlsbad, Gallup, Deming.

Additional state parenting plans you might want to consider:

Two related articles (not state-specific) to read: Parenting Plan and Parenting Plan Template.

Navigation: Child Custody » New Mexico » New Mexico Parenting Plan