If you live down the street from your child and share parenting time, it can be difficult. If you live several states away, however, it can feel impossible at times. Separated families who live far away from one another are often placed in the difficult position creating successful parenting plans. 

While no one strategy works best, there are some important tips that can help make parenting easier. The following will review some of the strategies to follow when creating successful long-distance shared parenting plans.

Address What is Important

To create any type of successful parenting plan, you must consider the obstacles that you might encounter. Because it can be difficult to communicate with a parent who lives a great distance away, it is even more important to fully address these issues when you create your parenting plan. 

Some of the issues that you should likely address include: 

  • Details about when the child attends school. While parental visitation is important, it is even more important that the child’s school schedule not be disrupted.
  • Having free time to visit with a child is one thing, but you also need to make sure that you have the finances available to pay for transportation costs. If you do not have this money, you should find a more affordable option or reschedule the trip. 
  • After deciding how transportation costs will be paid, it is also important to review travel arrangements for your child. This way you can make sure that the child reaches the destination safely.
  • Visitation plans should also be arranged. These details should include how the child will communicate with the parent while traveling. Parents should also be sure to work out exactly where the child will stay while traveling. 

Consider Basing Plans Around School Schedules

The most successful long-distance parenting plans are based around a child’s school schedule. Schools should provide reliability and be the top priority in your child’s life. This often means that one parent visits with the child during breaks, while the child stays with the other parent during school days. 

Some of the other ways that parents manage to create successful parenting plans include:

  • Some families have found that scheduled visits are an excellent way to share parenting time. These schedules involve parents routinely visiting the children. Other times, children might travel to the parent’s home. Due to financial and time constraints, however, these schedules are not always possible.
  • Some parents schedule trips at certain times each year. These trips often do not occur frequently, which means that children go for an extended period without visiting with the other parent.

Speak with an Experienced Family Law Attorney
There are many challenges that parents face after a divorce, and shared parenting is just one of them. One of the things that helps navigate this difficult process is to retain the assistance of a knowledgeable family law attorney. Contact Vayman & Teitelbuam, PC today to schedule a free case evaluation.