Keeping things positive between yourself and your co-parent, and allowing both the children and third parties to continue to acknowledge the other parent, can take special effort to cultivate. But everyone in the co-parenting family system benefits with better adjustment and mental health outcomes.

Spending 50% time with the children is the goal of many parents who separate. A parenting time schedule that takes into consideration parent’s work schedules and children’s needs can lead to an arrangement that is “in the nature of” 50-50 custody, but not exactly equal.

Many co-parents include in their parenting plan a provision that when the children are at one parent’s residence, the other parent will be entitled to FaceTime call(s). These calls can contribute to conflict between the co-parents. Here are some tips on how to make FaceTime calls go well.

Co-parents can reach agreements regarding how new significant others will be introduced to the children. These provisions stem from a recognition that each family member will adjust to the separation at a different pace. While these agreements require effort and compromise, they can reduce conflict.

If you’re separated and trying to work out how you will make decisions for the children going forward, it’s quite possible that you will encounter the term, “tie-breaker authority.” When decision-making is shared and co-parents disagree, tie-breaker authority allows one co-parent to make the decision.

Participating in parenting coordination with your co-parent may not sound like something that you really want to do. However, unless one or both co-parents have unlimited funds and find ongoing conflict in the Court rewarding in some way, you and your co-parent eventually have to start doing the work of raising your children together after the separation even though you are no longer committed as a couple.

At some point all separating parents must face the difficult moment of telling the children that they will longer be living together under one roof as a family. It is important to consider timing, content and emotions of all family members when planning a joint meeting with all of the children.

In addition to working directly with the co-parents, the parenting coordinator may also serve as the manager of a treatment team which includes individual therapists for the children, individual therapists for the co-parents as well as, possibly, a reunification therapist who works with the family.

In the course of negotiating a Parenting Plan or Marital Settlement Agreement (“Agreement”) all of the holidays are usually discussed in turn and divided in some manner. Negotiating the holiday schedule can be a challenging part of divorce mediation. Giving some careful thought to preferences and potential areas for compromise beforehand can be helpful.