Parenting Plans Questions and Answers

We introduced this Parenting Plans Questions and Answers page for you to post questions you may have on the topic. For example, if you want to know whether you should enter into a parenting plan, pose a question with some background facts. At the same time, should you be able to assist others who posted questions below, requiring some advice on Parenting Plans, please proceed and reply to their comments. In that manner, we would all be able to assist each other and increase our online knowledge base. Therefore, although we a are legal consultancy, specialising in family law, you may have problems or experiences that we have not encountered. Let us share in our knowledge of Parenting Plans.

Sections 33 and 34 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005

Sections 33 and 34 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 (the Act) deals with “parenting plans”. People that would find these sections useful are parents, legal practitioners, social workers, psychologists, social services professional. For an in-depth outline of the sections, visit this link on parenting plans and the law.

What is a parenting plan?

The Children’s Act 38 of 2005 does not provide a definition of a parenting plan. However, looking at the provisions of the Act and its Regulations dealing with parenting plans, one could define it as a written agreement between co-holders of parental responsibilities and rights outlining in detail their respective responsibilities and rights of care, contact, guardianship and maintenance with regard to a child.

Who should agree on a parenting plan?

Not all holders of parental responsibilities and rights need to agree on a parenting plan and have it registered with a Family Advocate or made an Order of the High Court. Parenting Plans should be entered into only if there is a need for it. However, the choice is always there for the parties should they wish to formalise one.

Section 33 of the Act provides for two (2) situations in which a parenting plan comes into play. This I shall refer to as the optional situation and the mandatory situation. For an in-depth outline of the sections, visit this link on parenting plans and the law.

Other family law resources on this website

There are various other family law resources on this website that you may find useful. For example, there is a downloadable child maintenance calculator. The resources may assist you with whatever questions you have, or the information you require on Parenting Plans. Therefore, after posting your question, or any time after, have a look at the useful resources and information on our website. Some of these resources are listed hereafter.

Articles and Q&A

There is a range of legal articles on this website dealing with various family law issues. Some of these articles are straight forward, outlining the legal position on a family law related topic. For example, how to apply for child maintenance, or how to get divorced. Other articles are written in the form of answering a specific legal question. For example, do I pay maintenance if I am unemployed, or what do I do if I want to leave the country with my child, and the other parent does not want to provide consent? Those articles are in blog format. This means that you are welcome to comment or pose questions to increase our knowledge base. The clear idea behind our website is that we want to make family law legal information more accessible and available to the public.

Downloadable resources

We created some downloadable resources for free on this website. They are:

1 Free Basic Will Tool Kit

2. Free Shariah Will Template

3. Free Divorce Starter Tool Kit

4. Free Child Maintenance Calculator

5. Free DIY Urgent Child Contact Toolkit

Feel free to download these useful resources. Click on the links above, and complete the online purchase process. The purchase price is R 0. Thereafter, a downloadable link would be emailed to you. Once you received the email, download it as soon as possible as the link would expire after two months. We hope that we assisted you with any queries you had on Parenting Plans. If not, feel free to arrange a consultation with us.

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