Too many folks forget about the child custody agreement when they sign those final divorce papers. They’re simply so glad they’ll finally put the past behind them, get on with their future, and that everything is finally over. No more lawyers and courtrooms. No more arguing over who gets the car and who gets the house. It’s done. Let’s move on. Throughout all of that arguing and scheming they clearly had to come to some kind of agreement over what was going to happen with the kids, too. But many people are not prepared to deal with what comes after the divorce. You may have finally put an end to the marriage, however the child custody agreement is just beginning.

Every state has different laws relating to divorce and child custody agreements however normally choices should be made concerning where the youngsters will live, who will be the primary caregiver, what school will they attend, how frequently and for how long can they visit the non-custodial parent, where will they spend holidays, etc. All of those details are discussed before the divorce and generally this will be the most troublesome part of the process. Sometimes parents will unwittingly use their kids as pawns during the divorce proceedings and sometimes they are doing it intentionally. But regardless of the parents’ intentions before the divorce is final, the fact of the matter is that now that child custody agreement is a legal and binding document and must be followed.

After months, and sometimes years, of bitter divorce proceedings parents usually forget that they’re still going to have to communicate about the children. They’ll in all probability still see each other on the weekends as the kids travel back and forth. And they’re going to both want to be involved in all those important choices that need to be made in a child’s life – how and when to discipline, what college should they go to, who’s going to pay for it, who’s going to take them to soccer practice. The parents might have ended the marriage however the day to day choices on behalf of the kids still need to be made. And which means that the parents must be able to communicate amicably, no matter how bitter the divorce was.

The reason there are 2 agreements – the divorce agreement and the child custody agreement – is to keep them separated. If you need to argue about who gets the dog that’s one thing, however you need to be ready to make decisions about your children together. Your children are counting on it. The big decisions, like where your children are going to live, have already been made. It’s the routine decisions that a lot of parents are not ready to handle as a team after the divorce becomes final. When the final papers are signed it becomes even more vital that you and your ex be ready to speak like mature adults and put the welfare of your kids first. Signing that child custody agreement may feel like you’re dropping some of your parental rights but you still have parental obligations.

This is often where individuals forget that child custody rights are put into place to guard the best interests of the child. When the girl’s natural father argued that he had every right to see his daughter on a regular and frequent basis and could not afford to travel back and forth to California every weekend the step-father argued back that he had every right to move his family to a different state espcecially because it was for a higher paying job.

In this case the court looked at things like uprooting the child from her school and friends, pulling her out of activities like soccer and scouting, and taking her away from her father, and determined that to serve the child’s best interests she should stay in Ohio. And it is not a case of whether the step father or the natural father won or lost their argument. Child custody rights are there to serve the best interest of the child.

Learn more about child custody agreements. Stop by Vladymir Rys’s site where you can find out all about effect of divorce on children and what it can do for you. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

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My friend got divorced last year – about September, I think. She is a working mother, earning a good salary. She’s single, with two children. She is the main custodian.
Her ex-husband has moved in with another single mother, a divorced woman with two children. She also works and receives maintenance for her two children.
My friend’s ex has approached the CSA to apply for a reduction in his child support, as he is now living with two children. They are not his own children, their father accepts his responsibility for them and pays his own child support.
My friend is in the process of losing 20% of her child support, which wasn’t terribly high, in the first place. As a lone parent, she pays the bills, mortgage, childcare, etc etc
Can someone please explain the logic behind this reduction. I’m not interested in opinions of the evilness of single mothers, I just want an explanation of why my friend’s children are now to be deprived of quite a large portion of their support.
This is a decision by the CSA. Nothing to do with lawyers.
If you check the website (I didn’t believe this either) you will see that this is so. CSA is now run by the Pensions and Works department.