Working a demanding job means that you can command a livable wage and provide your family with a decent standard of living. Unfortunately, it can also mean that you often have to sacrifice quality time with the people you love for the sake of your income.
Whether you work as a nurse who puts in a 12-hour shift or a business executive who has to occasionally travel for entire weeks abroad, the work that you do can impact the relationship you have with your children. Will it also impact your ability to seek shared placement if you and your spouse divorce in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin lets parents create parenting plans
As a divorcing parent in Wisconsin, you have the option of working with your spouse to create a comprehensive parenting plan. You can make plans as specific to your family situation as you need them to be. For example, you can address things such as on-call shifts at work or necessary business travel with short notice.
In some families, the spouse with the less demanding job may be understanding and willing to work with the other parent by being flexible when things change at the last moment. Other times, you may want to arrange for alternate care for your children if situations were to change abruptly.
Having a few babysitters that you trust or even arranging for your parents to do overnight care of your children if you have to travel during your parenting time can all be part of your parenting plan so that you can be as present as possible in the lives of your kids.
You have the option of changing your plan when your life changes
For some families, the best option for placement of children when one parent has a high-demand job could mean having the other parent exercise the majority of placement while the parent working the more demanding job has less parenting time but makes up for it by contributing more financially via child support.
Such arrangements do not have to be permanent. You can go back to the family courts and seek a modification when your circumstances change to assume more parenting time. What matters the most is advocating for a situation where you get to play a significant role in the lives of your children, regardless of how demanding your job may be.