|
Child Custody Agreement between Parents
If you reach agreement in relation to the arrangements for your
children you have alternatives as to how you document (or not
document) your agreement. Many families don't have any
written agreement, particularly when the parents are able to
effectively communicate.
Where Parental communication is an issue is it wise
to document your agreement by use of a Parenting
Plan or alternatively a Court Order
lodged by the consent of the parents in the Family
Court.
What's the difference between a Parenting
Plan and a Court Consent
Order?
It is important to obtain legal advice about your particular
circumstances. Parenting Plans or Agreements are recognised
by the Family Law Act where they are in writing, signed by both
parents and dated.
However parenting plans have a major difference to Consent Orders -
they cannot be enforced. In other words if one parent fails
to abide by the parenting plan the aggrieved parent cannot
bring an application in the Court for the breaching parent to
be dealt with in Contravention Proceedings under the Family Law
Act. What the aggrieved parent can do however is apply to the
Court (provided the parties have attended Family Dispute
Resolution) for an order in the same terms as the parenting plan
(or in different terms). The Courts will want an explanation
as to why the breaching parent did not do what they promised to do
under the parenting plan.
We often advise our client's to utilise
parenting plans because they are flexible in that
arrangements can easily be changed where there is agreement
to do so. It should be noted that Court Orders are more
difficult to change by application to Court but can easily be
varied by agreement with a parenting plan.
|
