What is a parenting plan?
A parenting plan is a document in which parents set out how the care, education and upbringing of their children will be organised following a separation or divorce.
Its purpose is to clearly establish how parental responsibilities will be exercised and how the children’s daily lives will be organised, always prioritising their wellbeing and their best interests.
Contents
Where are parenting plans regulated?
Parenting plans are expressly regulated in Article 233-9 of the Civil Code of Catalonia. This provision establishes that the plan must specify how both parents will exercise their parental responsibilities following the breakdown of the relationship.
In territories governed by the Spanish Civil Code, a separate document formally referred to as a parenting plan is not generally required. However, its content may be incorporated into the divorce settlement agreement or into the proposals concerning arrangements for the children.
Whether a parenting plan is mandatory, and the legal requirements it must meet, therefore depend on the civil law applicable to the particular case.
In which proceedings are parenting plans used?
A parenting plan may be used whenever family arrangements need to be established following the breakdown of a relationship involving minor children, particularly in the following proceedings:
- Separation or divorce by mutual agreement.
- Contentious separation or divorce.
- Proceedings concerning custody, child arrangements and maintenance for children of unmarried parents.
- Proceedings to modify existing arrangements concerning the children.
In mutual agreement proceedings, its content may be incorporated into the divorce settlement agreement or attached as an annex.
When the parents do not reach an agreement, each parent may submit their own proposal regarding the organisation of parental responsibilities for consideration during the court proceedings.
What should a parenting plan include?
The content of the plan should be adapted to the circumstances and needs of each family. Main matters it may regulate includes:
- Exercise of parental responsibility: how important decisions will be made and how disagreements will be resolved.
- Child custody and living arrangements: the agreed or proposed arrangement and the periods the children will spend with each parent.
- Place of residence: the homes in which the children will live and the rules that will apply in the event of a proposed change.
- Handover and collection arrangements: the place, times and person responsible for transporting the children.
- School holidays and special occasions: summer holidays, Christmas, Easter, birthdays and other significant dates.
- Communication with the children: telephone calls, video calls or other forms of contact while the children are staying with the other parent.
- Education and healthcare: decisions concerning schooling, medical care, treatment and extracurricular activities.
- Sharing information: how both parents will exchange relevant educational, medical or other important information.
- Resolving disagreements: the mechanisms established to address future disputes.
It should be sufficiently detailed to avoid conflicting interpretations, while also allowing some flexibility as the children grow and their needs change.
The agreed living arrangements must be coordinated with the applicable child custody arrangements. Where the children live primarily with one parent, a sole custody arrangement may be established, together with appropriate contact and overnight-stay arrangements with the other parent.
Differences between a parenting plan and a divorce settlement agreement
A parenting plan and a divorce settlement agreement are related documents, but they do not have the same scope.
A parenting plan focuses exclusively on the children and on how parental responsibilities will be exercised. It regulates matters such as custody, living arrangements, holidays, education, healthcare and communication.
A divorce settlement agreement has a broader scope. In addition to arrangements concerning the children, it may regulate the use of the family home, maintenance payments, family expenses and other personal or financial consequences of the separation or divorce.
In practice, the parenting plan may form part of the divorce settlement agreement or be attached to it as an annex.
Is a parenting plan mandatory?
A parenting plan is not generally mandatory throughout Spain.
In Catalonia, civil legislation expressly regulates its submission in proceedings in which parental responsibilities must be determined.
In territories governed by the Spanish Civil Code, arrangements concerning the children must be established in the divorce settlement agreement, in the proposals submitted by the parties or in the court judgment, even though the document may not formally be referred to as a parenting plan.
How is a parenting plan approved?
When the parents reach an agreement, the parenting plan may be incorporated into the divorce settlement agreement and submitted for judicial approval as part of the corresponding proceedings.
The court may refuse to approve agreed measures if they are considered harmful to the children. In contentious proceedings, the court will determine the applicable arrangements after considering the proposals submitted by the parties and the family’s particular circumstances.
The priority is not the convenience of either parent, but the protection of the best interests of the children.
Can a parenting plan be amended?
Yes. A parenting plan may be reviewed when the family’s circumstances or the children’s needs change.
Situations that may justify an amendment include:
- A significant change of residence.
- A change in working hours.
- A change of school.
- New educational or healthcare needs.
- Changes in the children’s needs as they grow older.
- The impossibility of continuing with the arrangements originally established.
Where the arrangements have been approved by a court, any amendment must be formalised through a new agreement approved by the court or through the corresponding modification of measures proceedings.
For more practical guidance on organising the care of children following a separation, read our article on what a parenting plan should include and how it works.