Getting a divorce could be extremely messy and complicated, and most divorces take several years to become finalized. With the absence of formal agreements between divorcing spouses, both still hold full custody of their child without any restrictions.
This could get into a heated disagreement, however, and even become complex. It could also become harmful to your child and your potential custodial rights, as courts don’t like it when one parent interferes with a child’s relationship with the other parent.
What Exactly Is a Temporary Child Custody Agreement?
Once spouses have separated, whether informally or legally, their next step should be to draft their shared temporary child custody arrangement. Basically, your arrangement must consider your child’s best interest, formalized, and signed by you and your spouse.
According to one of the many family lawyers in Colorado Springs, your agreement must cover the same issues of a permanent child custody orders such as:
- A statement that indicates whether legal custody is joint and if not, which parent has legal custody
- The physical custody arrangement and requirements for the visitation schedule
- Specific rules on parental responsibilities, which should include behavioral and financial responsibilities
Tips on Drafting the Temporary Child Custody Agreement
Ideally, parents should draft an agreement without any outside help, but this is only possible if they have an amicable relationship. Otherwise, if you’re having issues and require some help, you could consider getting help from a mediator to discuss your issues and come up with a solution. If sitting down with the other parent just isn’t possible, your only option is to ask a lawyer and resolve your issues through negotiations or litigation.
Do note that regardless of how you came up with your temporary child custody agreement, as your separation is probably new, it’s perfectly fine to make changes to the agreement whenever necessary. This is considering that all parties agree and that the changes still uphold the child’s best interests. Child custody is typically the hardest part of a divorce for everyone involved. That said, advanced and proper preparation would help ensure that everything goes as smooth as possible.