Parenting Plans: Meeting the Challenges with Facts and Analysis

All too often, the professionals in charge of a custody decision -- lawyers, judges, and mental health experts -- approach parenting plans as a routine exercise, often resulting in a cookie-cutter plan that revolves around the basic concepts of alternate weekends or 50/50 time with each parent. To facilitate the creation of high-quality parenting plans, Parenting Plans: Meeting the Challenges with Facts and Analysis combines practical considerations along with extensive research, theory, and scholarly debate to present a thorough, focused, and useful guide for attorneys and related professionals. Beginning with the basic considerations for an effective plan, further chapters offer tools for attorneys and others to craft appropriate and workable plans for their clients. Topics address all-too-common issues, such as difficult parenting plan cases involving very young children, domestic violence, or other family conflict; child mental health and/or special needs; dealing with parental mental health and related problems; cases involving allegations of parental alienation; gay and lesbian parents, as well as never married parents; child abuse and/or neglect; and more.