Our goal at Vacca Family Law Group is to assist you in creating a child custody and parenting plan that reflects the realities of your family's situation and focuses on your children's best interests. Will the children do best living primarily with one parent, or would it be best if they lived with each parent an equal amount of time? How will decisions be made about their education, medical care, activities and more? What will happen if a parent needs to relocate? These are just a few of the questions that need to be addressed, yet no answer is right for every family.

How Child Custody and Parenting Agreements Work

Parents either need to agree on these issues, or a court will do it for them.

A well thought out and well-written child custody and parenting plan will help you move toward a successful co-parenting relationship. The discussions and negotiations that are involved in creating a parenting plan give you and the other parent the opportunity to discuss and consider the parenting issues that will arise while raising your children. What may be a good parenting schedule at one age may not be appropriate as children grow. By negotiating your agreement on your own, and keeping your matter out of court, you and the other parent can look forward to the future and come to agreements about how expected and unexpected changes will be negotiated .

Healthy co-parenting that stems from thoughtful agreements you’ve made together is in the best interests of your child and makes both the parents and the child feel secure. Whether you were married to the other parent or not, once you are no longer in a relationship together, you need the legal protection of a written custody and parenting plan to clearly define each parent’s rights and responsibilities.

A well-written parenting agreement is a roadmap of how you will raise and support your child together while living in separate homes and will help you avoid costly, stressful and time-consuming litigation.

At Vacca Family Law Group, we are ready to help you find the right answer for your family. Contact us today.

Learn More About Child Custody & Parenting Agreements

• Not Planning to Marry After Having a Baby? What to Know About Parenting and Child Support Agreements
  A well thought out and well-written child custody and parenting plan will help you move toward a successful relationship with your child’s other parent. What may be a good parenting schedule at one age may not be appropriate as children grow. By negotiating your agreement out of court, you and your co-parent can look forward and come to agreements about how changes will be negotiated in the future… continue reading
• Cohabitation Agreements Make Sense For New York Parents Who Choose Not To Marry
  Because New York State does not automatically provide biological parents with all the rights of married parents, cohabitating parents need to be proactive in establishing their legal rights. Unmarried couples can easily establish their rights through the execution of child custody and parenting agreements...continue reading
• Another Reason to Keep Your Custody Dispute Out of Court: It’s a Black Hole
  In New York, if parents have custody disputes that they cannot resolve on their own, they go to Family Court or Supreme Court. Court-appointed forensic psychologists in New York State, as compared to other licensed professionals, exist in a rarified world where there is no real oversight of their actions. Basically, New York State is supporting an industry that wields enormous power over people’s lives, while being shielded from criticism and professional review...continue reading