Parenting Plans in BC: What to Include for Holidays, School and Travel

After separation, parents often look for a parenting plan template they can fill in. Templates help, but a plan that lasts needs to fit your children, your schedules and the way BC law treats parenting agreements.

This guide walks through the parts of a parenting plan that cause the most disputes, from holiday rotations to travel consent, and explains when a written agreement can be enforced like a court order.

What a parenting plan is under BC law

"Parenting plan" is not a defined term in the Family Law Act. The Act talks about "parenting arrangements", which means two things: how parental responsibilities are allocated between guardians, and each guardian's parenting time. Section 44 lets guardians make an agreement about one or more of these:

• the allocation of parental responsibilities;
• parenting time;
• how the agreement will be put into practice; and
• how disputes about it will be resolved.

An agreement about parenting arrangements is binding only if it is made after separation, or when the parties are about to separate and intend it to take effect on separation. A written agreement filed in court can be enforced as if it were a court order (section 44(3)). And on application, the court must set aside or replace all or part of it if the agreement is not in the child's best interests (section 44(4)).

That last point shapes everything else. Section 37 says the parties and the court must consider the child's best interests only, looking at factors such as the child's health and emotional well-being, the child's views where appropriate, the need for stability given the child's age, and the impact of any family violence. No particular arrangement is presumed to be in a child's best interests, and the Act specifically says equal parenting time must not be presumed (section 40(4)). Our article on whether 50/50 parenting is the default in BC looks at that question in more detail.

Start with responsibilities, not just the calendar

Many template plans jump straight to a weekly schedule. A durable plan starts with decisions. Section 41 lists parental responsibilities, including day-to-day care, where the child lives, education and extracurricular activities, culture, language and religion, health care consent, and applying for a passport or other documents.

Your plan should say who makes which decisions and how:

• Jointly, after consultation, with a set time to respond.
• By one parent, after consulting the other, for specific areas such as health or school.
• Separately, for day-to-day decisions while the child is with each parent.

Include how you will share information: school reports, medical appointments, and who can contact the school or doctor directly.

The regular schedule

The weekly schedule is the backbone. Be precise about:

• Days and times, including what happens on school days, weekends and professional development days.
• Exchanges, meaning where they happen, who drives, and whether the receiving or delivering parent picks up.
• Flexibility, such as how much notice is needed to swap a day, and whether missed time is made up.
• Communication with the child when they are at the other home, by phone or video.

Holidays and special days

Holiday terms prevent the most predictable arguments. The schedule usually overrides the regular rotation for:

• winter break, spring break and summer vacation;
• statutory holidays and long weekends;
• religious or cultural holidays your family observes;
• the child's birthday, each parent's birthday, Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Common approaches are alternating holidays by year (odd and even years), splitting a break in halves, or fixing certain days to one parent every year. Set a date each year by which summer vacation plans must be confirmed.

School and activities

School decisions often fall under education as a parental responsibility. Your plan can address which school the child attends, what happens if either parent moves catchment areas, and who attends parent-teacher meetings.

For extracurricular activities, decide whether enrolment needs both parents' consent, how many activities fall on each parent's time, and who drives. Costs for some activities may be dealt with in child support as special or extraordinary expenses, so cross-reference your financial agreement rather than leaving cost-sharing vague.

Travel and moves

Travel clauses are where many plans fall short. Consider:

• Notice and itineraries for out-of-province or international trips, including flights, addresses and contact details.
• Consent, including a deadline for signing travel consent letters. See our guide to travel consent letters for children.
• Passports, including who holds them and how they are returned.
• Limits, such as no travel to certain countries without written agreement.

A move is different from a trip. If a written agreement or order about parenting arrangements applies, a guardian planning a relocation must generally give at least 60 days' written notice of the date and proposed location under section 66. Our article on relocating with a child in BC explains the process.

Resolving disagreements and reviewing the plan

Section 44 expressly allows you to agree on how disputes will be resolved. Options include mediation, or using a parenting coordinator. The Family Law Act Regulation sets out what a parenting coordinator can decide: matters such as daily routines, holiday and special occasion schedules, extracurricular activities and transportation and exchanges, but not a change to guardianship, a substantial change to parenting time, or relocation.

Build in a review point, for example when the child starts school or high school, because what works for a toddler rarely works for a teenager. The Government of Canada's parenting plan checklist is a useful prompt list, though the legal effect of a plan depends on BC law. The Province also offers free online Parenting After Separation courses that cover parenting arrangements, and parents in a Provincial Court family case may be required to complete one.

Drafting a parenting plan? Make the wording work for your family

Our family lawyers can help you work out parenting arrangements, draft clear agreement wording for holidays, school and travel, and file an agreement or seek an order when that is the right step.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation at our Vancouver office.