A co-parenting agreement is a structured written agreement between the people who care for the child or children and they set out what has been agreed in terms of the child arrangements, communication between parents and how parents are involved in the child/children’s lives.
Areas to consider including in your co-parenting agreement:
- Communication: How will you communicate with each other and with the children when they are not in your care?
- Surname: Any changes must be agreed.
- Education: Any changes or choices must be agreed and both will have full direct access to all practitioners.
- Healthcare: Any changes or choices must be agreed and both will have full direct access to all practitioners.
- Religion: Any changes or choices must be agreed and both will have full direct access to all practitioners.
- Living Arrangements:
- Where will the children live?
- What will the child arrangements be in term-time?
- What will the child arrangements be in school holidays?
- What happens with special days: bank holidays, children’s birthdays, parent’s birthdays, Mothering Sunday and Fathers’ Day?
- How and where will handovers take place? Are you using school or a third party to limit contact between you and your ex?
- Child Maintenance Arrangements:
- How will basic and additional financial needs of the children be met?
- To calculate how much child maintenance you should be paying or receiving, use the child maintenance calculator which can be found here.
Guidance and templates
You can find various resources including a template parenting plan and guidance here.
The Co-parenting Checklist may assist you in structuring your agreement and it can be found here.