Getting divorced with minor children usually means shared parenting. These days, the negotiations focus more and more around a 50/50 split. So is 50/50 parenting fair?
When I divorced in 2007, our parenting plan started with a template from my attorney. That draft provided for at the time, fairly traditional shared parenting with our kids spending every other weekend with their dad and with another overnight every Wednesday. We didn’t even discuss a different arrangement and since then, while my ex would periodically say he’d like more time, he never pursued it and the kids were content with every other weekend.
If I was getting divorced today, I doubt that would be the case. Words like “visitation” and “custody” are disappearing from the divorce vocabulary and are being replaced by “parenting time” and “decision-making” with an emphasis on the active involvement of both parents.
What “active involvement” looks like is typically driven by the best interest of the child but that could be changing. A number of states are considering bills that would introduce a presumption of 50/50 shared parenting.
Supporters argue that the legislation is needed to create parental rights and that it will reduce harmful and costly child custody litigation. Opponents argue that the legislation puts parents’ wishes ahead of what’s best for the child and that far from reducing litigation, it will create more custody battles.
Find out more about this debate by joining me for this episode of Conversations About Divorce as I discuss the 50/50 presumption with attorney Brenda Storey from Storey Law Offices in Denver.