Fixed-Fee Parenting Plans: Why Use a Lawyer If You Already Agree?

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After separation, reaching agreement about parenting arrangements can feel like the hardest part. Whether you resolved your arrangements through mediation, negotiation, family dispute resolution, or by reaching an agreement directly with the other parent, you may be tempted to write the agreement yourselves.

Parents do not need a lawyer or the Court to enter into a Parenting Plan. A Parenting Plan is a written agreement between parents that sets out arrangements for their children.

However, there is an important distinction between having an informal agreement and having a carefully drafted Parenting Plan that clearly sets out your agreement.

This is where our fixed-fee Parenting Plan service can help.

What is a Parenting Plan?

A Parenting Plan is a written agreement between parents that sets out agreed arrangements for their child.

Under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), a Parenting Plan is a written agreement between a child’s parents that is signed and dated by them, and deals with matters concerning the child. It must be made free from any threat, duress or coercion.

A Parenting Plan may address matters such as:

• where the children will live;
• when and how much time the children will spend with each parent;
• arrangements for school holidays and special occasions;
• arrangements for birthdays, Christmas, and other significant events;
• how the children will communicate with each parent;
• how responsibility for making decisions about major long-term issues concerning the children will be allocated or shared;
• arrangements for changeover and transport;
• communication between the parents;
• arrangements for travel and holidays;
• how future disagreements will be resolved; and
• the process for reviewing or amending the Parenting Plan as the children’s needs change.

The precise terms of a Parenting Plan should be tailored to your family’s circumstances.

A Parenting Plan is not the same as a court order

It is important to understand what a Parenting Plan does and does not do.

A Parenting Plan is not a legally enforceable court order. If you require arrangements that are legally enforceable, you should consider whether an application for consent orders is more appropriate. Consent orders are subject to approval by the Court, which must be satisfied that the proposed parenting arrangements are in the children’s best interests. Elringtons also offers fixed-fee Consent Orders. You can read more about this here.

A Parenting Plan can still be a valuable way for parents to record their agreement and establish clear arrangements for their children. A Parenting Plan can also have legal significance. If family law parenting court proceedings arise later, the Court may have regard to the most recent parenting plan when determining what arrangements are in the child’s best interests. A parenting plan made after family law parenting orders may also affect the operation of those orders in some circumstances. Existing orders should be reviewed before a new parenting plan is signed.

“But we have already agreed. Why do I need a lawyer?”

If you and the other parent have already reached an agreement, you may not need a lawyer to negotiate your parenting arrangements.

However, you may benefit from having a lawyer formalise that agreement.

A Parenting Plan provides a clear, written record of the arrangements you have agreed on for your children. The wording is important.

For example, an agreement that says:

“The children will spend alternate weekends with Dad.”

may leave unanswered questions about when the weekend begins, when it ends, where changeover occurs, what happens during school holidays, and what happens when a child is sick.

Similarly, an agreement that says:

“The parents will share school holidays equally.”

may still leave considerable uncertainty about precise dates, Christmas arrangements, travel, changeover, and how holidays are divided.

These details may seem minor when everyone is getting along, but they can become significant points of conflict later.

The value of a lawyer is not necessarily in negotiating the agreement, but in helping to ensure that the agreement you have reached is clear, comprehensive, and workable.

Why choose a fixed-fee Parenting Plan?

A common concern when engaging a lawyer after mediation or negotiation is the cost of documenting your agreement. We understand this.

If you have already reached an agreement, you do not need an open-ended legal retainer with ongoing correspondence and negotiation.

Our fixed-fee Parenting Plan service provides legal assistance for a defined scope, so you know the professional fee from the outset.

This allows you to benefit from professional legal drafting without turning a resolved parenting matter into another lengthy legal process.

When is our fixed-fee service appropriate?

Our fixed-fee Parenting Plan service may be suitable if:

1. You and the other parent have reached an agreement regarding your parenting arrangements;
2. You have a written agreement, Heads of Agreement, mediation outcome, or another clear record of what has been agreed;
3. You do not require further negotiation about the substantive parenting arrangements;
4. You want the agreement converted into a comprehensive Parenting Plan; and
5. You want to ensure the document adequately addresses practical issues that may arise in the future.

In these circumstances, a fixed-fee Parenting Plan can provide an efficient, cost-effective way to formalise your parenting arrangements.

What does our fixed-fee Parenting Plan service include?

Our fixed-fee service is designed for parents who have already done the hard work of reaching agreement.

You are not paying us to renegotiate your parenting arrangements; rather, we assist with the legal work necessary to convert your agreement into a properly drafted Parenting Plan.

Review of your agreement

We review your existing agreement, Heads of Agreement, mediation outcome, or other written record of your parenting arrangements.

We assess whether the agreement is sufficiently detailed to be converted into a practical Parenting Plan and identify any areas that may require clarification. If your agreement is suitable for a fixed-fee arrangement, we will advise you at this stage.

Before accepting the matter under the fixed-fee service, we will also consider whether there are circumstances that may make the service unsuitable, which may include family violence, coercion, child safety concerns, urgent proceedings, relocation proposals, international travel or abduction concerns, existing parenting orders, or substantial disagreement about the proposed arrangements.

Preparing the Parenting Plan

We prepare the Parenting Plan to accurately reflect the agreement reached between you and the other parent.

By this stage, we should have a clear understanding of the arrangements and the information necessary to draft the agreement.

Identifying potential issues before signing the Parenting Plan

One of the benefits of obtaining legal assistance is having someone identify issues that may not be obvious when the agreement is first reached.

A Parenting Plan should not simply record what the parents have agreed at the time of signing. Where appropriate, it should anticipate common situations that may arise in the future.

For example, what happens if:

• a child is unwell on a changeover day;
• a parent needs to work on their usual parenting day;
• the children have a school event during the other parent’s time;
• one parent wants to travel interstate or overseas with the children;
• the children’s activities change;
• a public holiday falls immediately before or after a parent’s usual time;
• Christmas arrangements conflict with the ordinary parenting schedule; or
• the parents disagree about a major long-term decision?

Addressing these issues when preparing the Parenting Plan can help minimise misunderstandings and future conflict.

Written legal advice and explanation

As part of our service, we can provide legal advice to you about the Parenting Plan and explain the effect of the arrangements you are proposing.

This is especially important because, due to the limited enforceability of Parenting Plans, it is essential you have a thorough understanding of the agreement for long-term success.

Our fixed-fee costs

If your matter appears to meet the above criteria, we will confirm whether it can be accepted under the fixed-fee Parenting Plan service after an initial suitability and conflict assessment.

Our fixed-fee Parenting includes:

• reviewing one written record of the parenting agreement;
• one conference to clarify the agreed arrangements;
• preparing one draft parenting plan;
• one reasonable round of amendments that does not involve renegotiating the substantive arrangements;
• a written letter of advice explaining the nature and legal effect of the parenting plan; and
• a 15-minute signing appointment with our client.

To access our costs estimates for fixed-fee parenting plan’s, please email Callum Murray at cmurray@elringtons.com.au   

The fixed fee does not include negotiation between parents, court proceedings, preparation of consent orders, substantial redrafting following new instructions, advice about child support or property matters, or work arising from previously undisclosed parenting orders or safety concerns. If additional work is required, its scope and cost will be disclosed before that work is undertaken.

What if you have only reached a broad agreement?

Sometimes parents leave mediation believing everything has been agreed, but the terms are often too broad to create a genuinely workable Parenting Plan.

For example,

“The children will spend equal time with both parents.”

That may be the overall intention, but considerable detail is still required.

• What happens during school holidays?
• How are Christmas and birthdays managed?
• When does each parent’s time begin and end?
• Who collects the children?
• Where does the handover occur?
• What happens if one parent is unavailable?
• What happens when a public holiday falls during the usual arrangements?

These are often not disagreements, but simply practical details that were not discussed during mediation.

Where substantial further negotiation is required, a fixed-fee Parenting Plan service may no longer be appropriate, as the matter has moved beyond simply documenting an existing agreement. We recommend booking a fixed-fee initial appointment to discuss your options.

Parenting Plans can help prevent future conflict

One of the main benefits of a well-drafted Parenting Plan is clarity.

Parenting arrangements often become challenging when parents have different understandings of what was agreed.

A clearly written Parenting Plan provides both parents with a shared reference point for their children’s arrangements.

It can also encourage parents to address potential areas of disagreement before they escalate into disputes.

The Family Law Act encourages parents to reach agreement on matters concerning their children and to minimise the possibility of present and future conflict.

A well-drafted Parenting Plan can therefore serve as an important practical tool for separated parents capable of communicating and cooperating.

You can prepare it yourself, but you do not have to

Parenting arrangements can have significant consequences for both the children and parents.

The real question is not simply:

“Can I write a Parenting Plan myself?”

It is:

“Do I want to make sure that the agreement we have reached is properly documented and clearly sets out our parenting arrangements?”

Have you already reached an agreement? Let us prepare your Parenting Plan

If you and the other parent have reached a full agreement about your children’s care and recorded it in writing, you may not need further costly negotiations.

Our fixed-fee Parenting Plan service helps you take the next step by converting your agreement into a clear, comprehensive, and practical Parenting Plan.

You have already done the hard part by reaching an agreement.

Let us help you document your agreement properly.

Contact us to find out if our fixed-fee Parenting Plan service is suitable for your circumstances.

Important information

This article contains general information and does not constitute legal advice. The suitability and legal effect of a parenting plan depend on the family’s circumstances, including any existing parenting orders and any child safety or family violence concerns.  Our fixed-fee Parenting Plan service is intended for matters where the parents have already reached agreement about the substantive parenting arrangements. If the matter falls outside that scope, we will explain the additional work and provide a further costs disclosure before undertaking it. While we can prepare the Parenting Plan, we can only act on behalf of one parent. We cannot advise the other parent, who may obtain independent legal advice before signing.