PARENTING PLAN MEDIATION AND CUSTODY MEDIATION

Peace of mind is important, especially when your children are involved. Mediating your parenting plan and custody of your children can help you work together as co-parents for your children. Whether it's your first discussion about parenting your children in anticipation of a separation or divorce, or a modification of an existing parenting plan or custody order, mediation lets you tailor a plan that works for both parents as well as the children. Custody mediation and parenting plan mediation can help parents who were never married or divorced parents work together to minimize the impact of the fact that you're not living together.

All of the information on our web site concerning parenting also pertains to never married parents, separated parents, or divorced parents. Child support and parenting rights and responsibilities are the same for everyone.

The mediation process for parenting plans works the same way as mediation for a divorce, even if you were never married or if your divorce is already finalized. The mediators at Peace Talks Mediation Services see the same high rate of success in parenting plan mediation that we see in divorce mediation.

Custody Mediation and Parenting Plan Mediation
Child Support Mediation

Custody Mediation and Parenting Plan Mediation

• What is custody mediation?
• Does Peace Talks have specially trained custody mediators?
• How do I prepare for parenting plan mediation and custody mediation?
• How is custody decided?
• What if we can't even talk? Can we still mediate?

What is custody mediation?

10 Tips on why parenting plan mediation and custody mediation works

Does Peace Talks have specially trained custody mediators?

We have mediators who specialize in helping parents develop parenting plans in mediation.

Preparing for parenting plan mediation and custody mediation

• Parenting Plan Checklist
• Parenting Plan Holiday Schedule
• Parenting Plan Daily Calendar
• Child Information Worksheet
• Sample Parenting Plan Schedules
• Reasons to Mediate Parenting Plans
• When Your Children are With the Other Parent

How is custody decided?

When you go to court, custody is decided based on the best interests of your children. Each case is decided on a case by case basis. If you don't mediate but you go to court, the judge considers things like the relationship you each have with the children, and which parent will encourage more education, visitation with the other parent and his or her family, and which parent has a more stable home life to offer a child.

Because the standard "best interests" is so flexible, it's hard to know what a judge would do in the event of a trial. The other problem is that a judge will only have a few hours worth of testimony and a report prepared by the family conciliation office to use to make the decision about where your children will live and how often they will see you. That's not much information. There's no way the judge will know for sure if what is ordered is really in your children's best interests. Only you and your children's other parent know that. That's why mediation is the best way to deal with parenting and custody decisions concerning your children.

Mediation keeps you, the parents, in control of the decisions that are made about your children, not a judge or other stranger.

What if we can't even talk? Can we still mediate?

If you are willing to try to learn to talk to each other, then it's worthwhile to try mediation. Peace Talks' mediators are professionally trained to help people to build agreements and to learn to communicate with each other. If you're willing to try, we can get you talking.

If being in the room together is too difficult, we can schedule separate sessions either at different times or at the same time, but in separate rooms. This can let you take advantage of the benefits of mediation without the stress of being together in the same room. These separate meetings are called caucuses, and we can tell you more about how caucuses work if you call or come in for a mediation orientation.

Visit our Resource Center for more information about parenting, parenting during and after separation, and how best to take care of your children during this time.

Child Support Mediation

Child support is modifiable in the event that circumstances change. The change may be to your income, the other parent's income, your child's needs, or a combination of all three. Mediation can help you communicate about co-parenting issues and child support. Mediation can help you find a solution that takes all of your needs, and your child's needs, into account.

These days, child support rarely stops with just a monthly amount. From daycare to medical insurance and from summer camp to college expenses, mediation can be a great way to help parents balance the needs of their children with financial security and fairness and to find a solution that works for everyone. The mediators at Peace Talks Mediation Services can help you mediate and resolve your child support modification in a sane, sensible way and at a reasonable cost.

How is Child Support Set in a Divorce or Family Law Case?

California has a law which sets the child support amount based on your and your spouse's (or other parent's income, if you're not married) incomes after federal taxes, state taxes, social security, and other mandatory deductions. California Family Code Section 4055.

Child support is based on a combination of your and the other parent's incomes and the amount of time you each spend with the children. If your child has special circumstances, like a health or education problem, that can be taken into account, too.

Peace Talks Mediation Services uses a court-approved computer program to calculate the Guideline child support, and we can run these calculations for you in your mediation session if you wish. And, while the Child Support Guidelines are what the court would use, in mediation you're free to discuss child support based on your situation and your child's needs, not just a computer program. And, although you're already divorced, the mediation process is the same. The mediators at Peace Talks Mediation Services see the same high rate of success in post-divorce mediation that we see in pre-divorce mediation.

Preparing for child support modification mediation

If you want to mediate your child support modification, you can save some time and money by using these worksheets:

Child Support Checklist
Budget and Income Information (for child support issues)

Visit our Resource Center for more information about child support and creative ways to support your children without breaking the bank.

Getting married or re-married? You may want to consider a premarital agreement.