Working together to raise children can be challenging for married couples, let alone those who are divorced. Knowing this, Illinois couples who are still in the process of divorcing would probably benefit from sitting down and carefully designing a parenting plan to help them co-parent. The more detail-oriented a couple is, the better the chances are that they can avoid disputes in the future that could jeopardize the delicate balance that often accompanies parents in this situation.
Illinois parents who can minimize disputes will more than likely have a better co-parenting experience. Creating a visitation schedule with as much specificity as possible could help avoid disputes on this issue. Unless both parents have the same work schedules, working out parenting time could prove challenging, so it could take some time to find the right balance.
Including some direction regarding resolving any disputes that do arise would be wise. If you agree in advance how you will deal with issues that will inevitably come up as parents, you could avoid those issues getting blown out of proportion and causing disruptions in an otherwise working agreement. This may actually put co-parents ahead of married parents since married parents rarely outline ahead of time how they will deal with disputes whether they involve the children or not.
These are not the only important issues for couples to address in a parenting plan, but they are important ones that help make the co-parenting relationship stronger. Entering into this kind of joint custody is more complex than many divorced parents are given credit for. After all, they decided to end their marital relationship for a reason, and putting those feelings away in order to continue loving, supporting and parenting their children together is to be applauded. They deserve to create the best plan possible to help them in that endeavor.
