As this blog has discussed previously, Nebraska law strongly encourages dads in this state to work with their children’s mothers to come up with a parenting plan that works for all parties involved.
The parenting plan is a legally binding document. When it comes to deciding which parent can make what decisions or who can have the child on which days, the terms of the parenting plan will control.
Therefore, it is important for Omaha dads to be extremely careful when agreeing to a plan. He should be certain that his rights and responsibilities are both clearly set out and well protected.
For this reason, before agreeing to a parenting plan, many men are best served by consulting with an experienced family law and fathers’ rights attorney with experience handling cases in Douglas and Sarpy Counties. This Is an important step even when there is relatively little conflict between the man and his children’s mother.
Still, there are some general tips that a man can follow in order to make sure he and the child’s mother come up with a solid parenting plan that is likely to last.
For example, it is important to hit the ground running by setting up a detailed schedule for parenting time as soon as it is practical to do so. This not only sets a positive tone for coming up with a permanent parenting plan, it is also good for children who may be reeling emotionally from the breakup of their parents.
Likewise, particularly in a high conflict situations, it is important to establish rules of communication between the two parents. When there is conflict, it may be best to limit communication to one form. In some cases, parents may even be able to use special software where all of their communications with each other get stored.