RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL

10. Parental care should be presumed to be better than surrogate care. Each party

should be required to notify the other in the event that he or she is not available to personally

care for the child for a period in excess of three hours. The party exercising his or her right of

first refusal should be responsible for all transportation, picking the child up and dropping her off

as soon as the other parent is available.

LEGAL CUSTODY AND PARENTING PLAN

11. The parties should share joint legal custody and implement the following

parenting plan. The following parenting plan is intended to promote the parent-child relationship

between both parents and the child. It should be construed to be consistent with the best interests

of the child, the parents, and the covenant of good faith and fair dealing that both parties

acknowledge is requisite for the sharing of joint legal custody.

Decision-Making

12. The parents should discuss with each other and mutually decide the significant

decisions regarding the child, including, but not limited to, the childs education, health care, and

religious upbringing. Either parent should be entitled to make emergency decisions regarding

the health or safety of the child.

13. Day to day decisions regarding the care, control and discipline of the parties child

should be made by the parent with whom the child is residing at the time.
 14. Any parental duties or rights not specifically addressed in this plan should be

discussed and mutually decided by both parents.

15. In the event that a decision is contested by the parties, each party should outline in

writing his or her position regarding the dispute and exchange with the other any materials he or

she deems relevant to the disagreement.

17. The parties should schedule and hold an informal discussion of the issue by

telephone or in person.

18. If the parties still are unable to agree on a course of action, the parties should

arrange for mediation of the matter through a mutually agreed upon mediator or mediation

service. Should the parents be unable to agree upon a mediator or mediation service, the parent

requesting mediation should arrange for mediation through a court-approved mediator or

mediation service. A written record should be prepared of any agreement reached in mediation

and a copy provided to each parent. The parents should share the costs of mediation equally.

19. If, after mediation, the parties are unable to reach a resolution, Petitioner should

have final decision-making authority.

20. Upon motion, Respondent should be entitled to request that the court review the

decision after all of the above steps are completed. No deference should be given to either party

based upon custody arrangements.

 21. No dispute should be presented to the court in this matter without a good faith

attempt by both parents to resolve the issue through mediation or other method of alternative

dispute resolution method.

Information Sharing

22. The parties should keep each other informed about matters involving the child,

including:

i. Medical, dental, and other health-related issues, including prospective

appointments, outcomes of appointments, including any diagnosis and proposed

treatment;

ii. Scholastic issues including homework assignments, project assignments,

parent-teacher meetings, grades, progress, academic concerns, etc.;

iii. Behavioral issues or disciplinary matters;

iv. Religious issues;

v. Extracurricular notices such as game and practice schedule and/or

performances;

vi. Financial issues;

vii. Parental-involvement requests;

viii. Special events in the childs life such as weddings, family reunions,

special family functions, funerals and the like, and;

ix. Any other items pertinent issues that would be discussed in intact families.
 General Provisions Governing Conduct

23. Each parent should actively promote and support the other in his or her role as a

parent to the child, encouraging healthy parent/child relationships. The following are rules of

specific conduct that should be enforced with regard to the rearing of the child. The parties

should refrain from engaging in other similar conduct that undermines the parent/child

relationships, even though such conduct may not be explicitly listed below.

24. Both parents should provide the other with his or her current address, telephone

number, and e-mail addresses. Each parent should notify the other within 48 hours of any

change in that information.

25. Both parents should provide the other with the childs telephone number, their

current address, e-mail addresses, social media sites (requiring the child to friend both

parents), and other virtual internet information. Each parent should notify the other within 48

hours of any change in that information.

26. Both parents should have the right to access the childs educational records, health

records, governmental records, law enforcement records, etc. Both parents should facilitate the

others access to those records, including executing any necessary releases or other such

authorizations. Both parents should ensure that schools, day care providers, etc., have the

telephone number of the other parent and have authorization to disclose all information to the

other parent. Both parents should be listed as the childs emergency contact.
 27. The parties should provide the other with a current list of teachers, doctors,

dentists, coaches, etc., including that persons contact information, such as telephone numbers,

email addresses, and addresses. Each party should notify the other regularly with any updated

information.

28. Communications between the parties should be civil and polite. Communications

should be restricted and limited to only those topics relevant to the childs care, and his best

interests and welfare. Upon the written request of either party, communications between the

parties should be via email. However, text messaging may be used but restricted to time

sensitive situations, for example, facilitating telephone and video calls with the child, providing

travel updates on the day of an exchange, etc.

29. While in the presence or hearing of the child, neither parent should bad-mouth,

mock or otherwise be disrespectful of the other parent. In the event that third parties engage in

such conduct, the parent should take the child out of the room and out of hearing.

30. Neither parent should attempt to harm or alienate the relationship the other parent

has with the child in any way.

31. Both parents should actively monitor the child in her use of media so that she is

not exposed to nor permitted to access media that is not age-appropriate.

32. Neither parent should use the child as a messenger between them. The parties

should communicate directly with each other in all matters relating to the care and upbringing of

their child.
 33. Neither parent should talk to the child about money matters, especially those

relating to child support. The parties should not discuss financial hardships with the child

resulting from the court action or differences in opinion as to how the other parent spends money.

34. The parties should not use their child as a spy in the other parents home. They

should not ask the child to reveal information about what occurs in the other parents home or the

other parents personal life.

35. Because the parents understand that children sometimes choose to exploit

differences between them, the parents should email or otherwise discuss with the other any

disturbing information about the other parent, including disturbing information concerning that

parents contacts, before assuming that the information relayed by the child is accurate.

36. The parties should not talk to the child about court and/or other legal matters nor

permit the child to read legal documents or other documents relating to this case. The parties

should secure any such documents so that their child cannot access them.

37. The parties should support each other as parents, giving the child permission to

love the other parent, that parents extended family, including a new spouse or significant other,

and new siblings.

38. Both parents understand that conflict between them may cause emotional distress

and psychological damage to their child. The parties should be respectful towards one another in

all communications between them, thereby minimizing conflict between them.

 39. Both parents should allow and encourage reasonable telephonic or virtual contact

with the child when they are with the other parent. Neither parent should monitor the child when

they are talking with the other parent. Neither parent should interfere with a parents

communication with the child whether by telephone, mail, email, social media, etc.

40. Each parent should notify the other as soon as practicable when learning of

significant events in the childs lives. Such events include (but are not limited to) school

programs, extra-curricular activities, family functions, including weddings, funerals, religious

holidays, important ceremonies, etc. Such events may inadvertently conflict with the parent-time

schedule, but requests for changes in parent time to accommodate the event should be given

special consideration. Consent to attend such events should not be unreasonably withheld unless

there is good cause to deny the request.

41. Neither parent should enroll the child in services such as counselling without

notifying the other of the need for such a service and involving the other parent in choosing the

professional. If the parents cannot agree on a professional, the parent initiating the service

should select three potential counselors or therapists and the other parent should be entitled to

select one.

42. Each parent should use his or her best efforts to ensure that parent time runs as

smoothly as possible. Each parent should communicate with the other in the event that he or she

is delayed for any reason in picking up or dropping off the child. Clothing, toys and other items

such as the childs personal effects should be exchanged to facilitate the childs visits.
 43. In accordance with Utah Code 30-3-36(2), for emergency purposes, whenever

the child travels with either parent, all of the following should be provided to the other parent:

(a) an itinerary of travel dates; (b) destinations; (c) places where the child or traveling parent can

be reached; and (d) the name and phone number of an available third person who knows the

location of the child.

44. Each parent should notify the other when the child is ill. If a child is ill, regularly

scheduled parent times should be discussed by the parents prior to parent time to decide whether

or not parent time should be rescheduled. Neither parent should use illness of the child as a

means to frustrate the other parents parent time as both parents are capable of caring for the

child when he is ill.

45. Both parties should be restrained from bothering, harassing, annoying or harming

the other party whether in person, by telephone, email, text, or otherwise. Both parties should be

restrained from inducing or allowing a third party to do what they themselves are prohibited

from doing under this paragraph and should have the affirmative duty to use his or her best

efforts to prevent third parties from such violations.

46. Each parent should follow this parenting plan even if the other does not. If a

parent does not follow this plan or any terms of the final Decree, the prevailing party should be

entitled to all of the available sanctions for contempt, including an award of attorney fees to the

prevailing party, fines, jail, etc.