Here is a comprehensive list for everything that should be covered or at least considered in a co parenting plan.

Food for thought only and if this applies to your situation. Do not consider this as legal advice. Generally, the higher the conflict in your and ex-spouse relationship, the more specific and detailed parenting agreements should be. This will aid in avoiding arguments, unnecessary communication, and returning to court consistently. Such specificity and details may not be necessary as with an amicable divorce, but later become necessary when a significant other or new spouse enters the relationship.

Only you (and/or your lawyer) can be the judge. The key here is to “think ahead” – though things may not be an issue today, they could become an issue in the future. There’s no blame to either party to include things that may or may not be an issue, but rather should be perceived as establishing requirements and resolutions for things you may not anticipate today and will preserve the good relationship you have, rather than continued costs and efforts of returning to court at a later date. These points do not cover all things related to agreements and are not guaranteed to save anyone from an exhaustive and expensive court battle. We all must face the reality that all situations are unique, children grow, needs change and so must we. These points are also not necessary for every situation so pick what is relevant to your situation.

Time spent with both parents and handover

• How will the children spend time with both parents? Divide this into term time, holidays and special occasions.
• Is this an interim agreement for 6 or 12 months or a final agreement? If you want to review when will this happen?
• Days, times, location for drop off and pickups (consider proximity of each parent, if local or out of town more than perhaps 2 hours, etc.) And which parent is dropping off? Is the driving shared?
• Who is allowed to pick up/drop off children (i.e. parent only, ex’es significant other, older biological sibling or step-sibling, grandparent, etc.)
• Does the receiving parent pick up at the other parent’s home?
• Are there any rules for other parent such as, drop off at end of driveway, text when you’ve arrived, walk up to the door etc. Make sure that whatever agreement you make does not make it ‘weird’ for the children.
• If child forgets something at the other parent’s home, how will it be retrieved (i.e. does parent who currently is caring for the child to get it, does parent whose house it was left at parent bring it, can either parent just go to the other’s home for this purpose without given the other parent notice or agreeing on time and place).
• If a parent will be late to pick up or drop off, how much notice should be given to the other parent (i.e. as soon as it is known, within 15 minutes before or after scheduled time) and how is this communicated? Text, app?
• Consequences of being late without notice (i.e. time is forfeited, additional time should be granted to other party for waiting, etc.).
• Consequences of missing scheduled parenting time (i.e. time is forfeited, additional time should be granted to other party).

During Term time for school aged children

• Location is drop off and pickup at school during term time (this is great when in high conflict as you wont see each other and the kids are not exposed to conflict)
• Will children take public school bus transportation (at one home, both homes), will they walk to school, will either parent pick up and drop off at school ?
• How will you exchange any personal items that cannot be taken to school and stored for the day (i.e. musical instruments, personal computers, mobile phones, game devices, etc.)
• Schools have professional development days, early closures etc. which may require schedule change in addition to drop off and pick up times and locations
• Requirements for both parents and agreed upon alternatives should be on school emergency cards, notifications, etc.
• Who is responsible to pick up the child when they are sick? Who should the school call? This will depend on the parenting schedule.
• Notification to other parent by xx time if child/children in their care is to be absent from school
• Each parent is responsible for obtaining information from school regarding meetings, conferences, grade progress, homework and due dates

School Holidays

• How will you share the school holiday? Will you continue your regular care arrangement or will you make specific school holiday agreements and what will they look like!
• Share school holidays (if parenting time is one week on/one week off, is school holiday split between both parents? continue as routine parenting time? alternate school holidays?)
• Provide for any changes in pickup/drop off routines .
• Think about that the term school holidays might require different agreements than the long summer school holiday.
• What happens if both parents have to work during the school holidays?

Vacations

• Length of vacations, certain number of consecutive days
• Traveling during vacation

Interstate Travel

• How much detail will you provide to each other? Flight details? Accommodation details? Or just make sure you are contactable ?
• Do you need to give each other permission or notify only if the trip is within your allocated time?

Within-state Travel

• What details will be provided to other parent?

International travel (this includes Bali)

• Method of travel (planes, trains, car, cruises)
• Need for passports, who maintains, how is passport exchanged between parents
• Insurance will the traveling parent need insurance?
• Will you rotate annual vacations, providing schedule to other parent not later than one month before for example
• Make sure you get legal advice about travel and the requirements for overseas travel. Make sure the clauses about overseas travel are clear and agreed upon. If there is overseas travel written down in your parenting plan you might want to consider converting them into consent orders as a parenting plan is not legally binding.
• Will you need permission to travel from each other and if so how will you go about that? Email?
• What information is provided to the non-traveling parent?
• How will the non traveling parent stay in touch with the children?
• When do you go back to your school holiday or term time arrangements after the traveling parent has arrived back with the kids? The nontravellng parent will want to see the kids as soon as they come back probably.
• How will you communicate and organise parents traveling without the kids but wanting help from the other parent caring for the children?

Christmas and Other Special Days

• Will you share holidays every other year (consider proximity of each parent, if local or out of town more than perhaps 2 hours, etc.) Or will you have one year with the children and the other parent the next year. This is important when a family lives far away for example.
• When does holiday time begin and end (i.e. pickup at 5 pm the day before, 10 am the day off, splitting a holiday, the Friday evening preceding a holiday weekend)
• Review and include ALL public holidays, special days you’ve celebrated in the past, maternal and paternal grandparents, special birthdays, Halloween, mother/father/siblings birthdays, any provisions for celebrating with step siblings, any religious celebrations

Transportation

• Use of car seats (what kind, under “current” guidelines, according to local law enforcement rules)
• Purchase of car seats (who purchases, does each parent have a right to see and confirm they meet current standards)
• Who can transport the children in a vehicle (i.e. parent only, ex’es significant other, older biological sibling or step-sibling, grandparent, etc.)

Decision Making

• Who can make decisions regarding child’s education, religion, extracurricular activities, medical, health, and how to resolve if agreement is required but cannot be achieved?
• Is there a time limit by which the other parent needs to agree or disagree to a situation and if not met, what is the resolution (can one parent simply make the decision regardless, must there be a mediation – are there limits on the types of items that go to mediation, could a third-party mutually agreed upon family friend be called in to assist to reach agreement)

Extracurricular Activities

• Do all extracurricular activities require mutual agreement, or only those directly related to school and/or involve a commitment of time, cost from the other parent, or interference with the other’s parenting time
• Can both parents attend sports events, dance concerts and the like? What would the kids like? And can you be civil if you would both be there? If not always remember that one of the most important things is not exposing the kids to conflict.
• What is the method in which you agree upon extra curricular activities? Discuss it at the beginning of each term for next term or at the end for example?
• Make sure that the agreement allows your children to attend their extracurricular activities. Being in a team and only going ones a month is not great. Normally this requires up front agreement from both parents that the kids are allowed to do the activity.
• Who will pay for the activity?

Child Care

• Right of refusal – does a parent requiring someone else to look after the child have to give the other parent first right of refusal during their absence? If so what is the timeframe when they have to offer that? It is not to quickly go to the shop. Is it 2 hours, 4 hours or an overnight?
• If other parent cannot manage care during absence, who can (grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, friends)
• Are there any restriction to duration of care in parents’ absence (i.e. over 8 hours, for any overnight visits)
• Who takes time off work to care for sick child/children
• Day care – who pays, transportation, notices of changes, mutual approval.

Education

• Where will the kids go to school?
• Who will pay for the fees if there are any and booklists, uniforms etc.
• How will you make a decision about schooling together what is the process?

Medical/Dental

• How will you make agreement on doctors, therapists, dentists, changes in any provider
• Who carries health insurance (if you choose to have it)- is cost shared or paid for solely by one parent?
• Is uncovered medical costs shared between both parties?
• Who takes child/children to appointments? Will both parents be informed that there is an appointment?
• In the event of emergency/hospitalisation, each parent must notify the other within xx hours (what if mobile phone reception is not available?)
• In the event of routine appointment, when does the other parent need to be notified (i.e. within 24 hours) of results and/or necessary treatment. And how will the other parent get the information about that appointment?
• Think of a method of resolving disputes on recommended treatment plans eg if child diagnosed with ADHD and one parent doesn’t wish to medicate. How will this be resolved?

Communication

• How will you communicate? CoOperate app? Text? Whatsapp etc
• When will you communicate and about what?
• How will you speak to the kids about the other parent? No bathmouthing is recommended.
• How will each parent communicate with the kids when they are not in their care?
• What do you inform each other of in relation to the kids and how? School notes, medical appointments, anything else?
• Agreement about doing courses or therapy to improve communication between you as co-parents?
• You are no longer a couple but you are in a relationship. It is very different from a romantic relationship so working out where the boundaries are and making sure you both get enough communication is crucial.
• Working on communication is so important as kids are not objects and there will always be things to negotiate and talk about.

General/Other

• Who holds and maintains important documents related to child/children (birth certificates , passports and special certificates and awards – trophies)
• Agreements about encouraging child/children to be encouraged to call parent’s significant other/spouse “mum” or “dad” or not.
• Agreements about if and when they introduce new partners to the children.
• Child/children hair cuts, piercings, tattoos
• When you made the parenting plan what will you do with it? Make an agreement about lodging it as consent orders or keeping it as a parenting plan. Talk to you lawyer about the pro’s and cons.