If you and your spouse have children, working out a parenting plan may be the most difficult part of your divorce. You may both believe you have their best interests in mind. Yet, you two will likely disagree on what these may be. As you establish your parenting plan, Oregon’s custody laws can provide useful guidance.
Understanding Oregon’s custody laws
Creating your own parenting plan can give you and your spouse more control over custody arrangements. But if you two cannot agree on these matters, you may need to take your dispute to court. If you do, a judge will weigh a variety of factors before making a ruling. They will consider:
- Whether you and your spouse can both provide your children a stable home environment
- Whether you or your spouse was your children’s primary caregiver during your marriage
- Whether you and your spouse will both encourage your children to maintain a relationship with the other parent
- Whether you or your spouse have abused the other
- Your children’s relationship with you and your spouse
- Your children’s relationship with their siblings and other relatives
- Your children’s preferences, if they are of a certain age or maturity
Based on these factors, you and your spouse may end up sharing joint physical and legal custody of your children. This arrangement would mandate that your children spend specific, though not necessarily equal, time at each of your homes. And it would also allow you and your spouse to share decision-making responsibilities about their lives. The most common custody arrangement in Oregon, though, is where one parent receives physical and legal custody. In this case, the other parent gets a fair share of parenting time.
Reaching an agreement
No matter how you reach an agreement on custody with your spouse, it’s crucial to acknowledge Oregon’s laws during the process. These focus on your children’s best interests, which deserve the strongest weight in any final decisions. An attorney with family law experience can help you prioritize these as you work toward establishing a fair arrangement.
