When you separate from your spouse, common law partner or significant other, there should be a parenting arrangement in place to provide for your child’s continuing care and development. A parenting plan (or custody arrangement) sets out rules about how decisions about children will be made, carves out parental responsibilities and obligations, and specifies parenting time schedules (access or contact).
If two parents are unable to agree on the roles they will play in their child’s life after separating or going through a divorce, a judge will consider the child’s best interests in imposing a binding parenting arrangement upon them. This may seem straightforward at first glance. However, a judge’s determination of a child’s best interests includes considering a constellation of factors, many of which are legally intricate and apply differently to each family’s circumstances.
We recommend that all parents complete the free Parenting After Separation course located at pas.albertacourts.ab.ca. Where there are children under 16 years of age, the course must be completed before a divorce can be granted or a court application commenced.
