A parenting plan specifies how responsibilities towards children will be exercised after a separation where Catalan law applies. It is not simply about dividing days: it must help organise everyday life and reduce uncertainty about decisions, information and changes in living arrangements.
Start with the children's needs
The child's best interests must guide the measures. Age, care needs, schooling, distances and the parents' actual availability are matters to examine. A seemingly symmetrical schedule may be unsuitable if it does not take these circumstances into account.
Separation does not in itself remove parental responsibilities. It is advisable to distinguish custody and time spent living with each parent from decisions requiring both parents to be informed or involved under the applicable arrangements.
What matters should be specified
The plan must address matters such as the usual place of residence, the distribution of care tasks, changes in living arrangements and communications. Holidays, special dates, education and how information about health and well-being is shared are also relevant.
Simply stating “holidays divided equally” leaves questions unanswered: which periods are divided, how they are chosen, when notice is given and where handovers take place. Precision should make family life easier, without turning the plan into a document that is impossible to apply.
Decisions and future changes
Agree reasonable information channels and a way to raise disagreements. A change of home, school or employment circumstances may require an assessment that cannot be resolved by a general authorisation covering everything.
Measures on maintenance, expenses and use of the home must be coordinated with the rest of the agreement. Sharing time with the children does not automatically mean that every financial contribution disappears.
Limits of a downloaded template
A template can help identify topics, but does not check the applicable law, family safety or the suitability of the agreement. If there are indications of violence or other circumstances requiring protection, these must be disclosed so that the relevant measures and limits can be considered.
There is no rule under which every case must end in shared custody or an exact fifty-fifty division. The proposal requires an individual assessment and the appropriate scrutiny.
Frequently asked questions
Does signing a private document replace court approval?
This should not be assumed. Where measures affect children, the required procedure and scrutiny must be checked.
Can the plan be reviewed if circumstances change?
A variation through the appropriate procedure may need to be considered. A significant change does not authorise unilateral non-compliance with the current decision.
Our family and inheritance service can review the information needed to prepare a proposal. This guide does not set measures for a particular family.
