Building a Strong Foundation for Coparenting
When family dynamics change, nothing is more important than the children’s wellbeing. At Northeast Ohio Family Law and Mediation LLC, we help our clients create detailed shared parenting plans that designate both parents as having custody and decision-making authority. We provide our clients with options that are unique to their circumstances including customized parenting time schedules, how education and medical decisions can be made, and how child-related expenses can be shared. We help our clients minimize conflict to prevent parenting disputes in the future.
Topics for Discussion
Residency and Parenting Time. We help our clients discuss where each parent will reside post-separation and how those decisions may impact the children and the parenting plan. We appreciate that one size does not fit all when it comes to schedules, and we tailor agreements to fit each family’s needs. We strive to create parenting time schedules that are optimal for all involved, including the parents and the children.
Decision Making. While shared parenting entails mutual decision making, at times, not all parents can make joint decisions without assistance. We provide our clients with tools and mechanisms for making decisions and resolving disagreements on their own. Those decisions can include major medical care, vaccines, selection of special classes, and, if not already decided, where the children will attend school.
Child Support. We help our clients navigate discussions on finances, including the exchange of child support and payment of other expenses such as health insurance and childcare. We provide our clients with possible outcomes by using specialized software to run child support guideline scenarios to help them make informed decisions.
Children’s Expenses. We address children’s expenses that exist outside of the child support calculation, including extracurricular activities, private school, college savings, school supplies, and out-of-pocket medical expenses.
Special Needs. We understand the intensity and complexity that special needs children bring to a separation, including autism, Down syndrome, or other special needs. We create specialized parenting plans to address the child’s specific needs including therapies and other programs. We can collaborate with other professionals and medical providers to address related issues such as special needs trusts, government sponsored programs, and special education planning.
Examples of Successful Custody and Shared Parenting Mediations
Unmarried Parents with Young Child.
The parents hired attorneys but entered mediation to avoid the cost of litigation. The parents agreed on a parenting plan that addressed the school-year and summer parenting time schedules, how the school district would be selected once the child reached school age, and how other decisions would be made.
Transition and Activity Disputes.
The parents engaged in mediation for their dissolution. They discussed a step-up parenting time schedule that provided a transition for the children from one home to two homes, a custom holiday schedule that included days off school, and a default method for selecting extracurricular activities.
Unique Employment Schedules and Expenses.
In mediation, the parents constructed a parenting time schedule that catered to their unconventional work schedules. They also resolved the financial issues, which included dividing the children’s expenses by their income percentages to avoid the formal exchange of child support.
Unmarried Parents with Young Child.
The parents hired attorneys but entered mediation to avoid the cost of litigation. The parents agreed on a parenting plan that addressed the school-year and summer parenting time schedules, how the school district would be selected once the child reached school age, and how other decisions would be made.
Transition and Activity Disputes.
The parents engaged in mediation for their dissolution. They discussed a step-up parenting time schedule that provided a transition for the children from one home to two homes, a custom holiday schedule that included days off school, and a default method for selecting extracurricular activities.
Unique Employment Schedules and Expenses.
In mediation, the parents constructed a parenting time schedule that catered to their unconventional work schedules. They also resolved the financial issues, which included dividing the children’s expenses by their income percentages to avoid the formal exchange of child support.
Connect with a Mediator Serving Northeast Ohio
Send us a message or call us at 440-696-0550 to learn how mediation can help you address child-related family law matters in a way that fosters cooperation and respect.