When people in Virginia decide to divorce, they may face a range of emotional, practical and financial effects and considerations. While dealing with property division can have long-term financial repercussions, many parents find reaching a solution to child custody questions one of the most emotionally draining parts of the divorce. Most family court judges will encourage divorcing parents to reach a negotiated resolution with the help of their lawyers as they transition to a co-parenting relationship. One of the most important parts of a child custody agreement is the parenting plan and custody schedule.
During a divorce, some parents may feel overwhelmed with all of the issues they must navigate. It can be all too easy to forget about things in a child’s schedule. However, those activities may be very important to the child and can easily lead to later child custody disputes when both partners repeatedly ask for changes to the schedule to accommodate activities. Old calendars can be important when preparing to negotiate child custody as they can help to ensure that sports, extracurricular activities and clubs are part of the official parenting plan.
Old calendars and records can also be surprisingly useful in determining child support and spousal support. They can help to document some of the expenses involved in raising a child beyond the minimum, including birthday parties for which kids need gifts, sports with necessary equipment and appointments with co-pays. Calendars can also help to document just how active both parents are in their children’s life.
There are a wide range of records that can become important when going through a divorce, from bank statements to tax records to old social media posts and calendars. A family law attorney may advise a divorcing spouse about documents that could be important in determining property division, spousal support and child custody.