1. (A) The general assembly finds the following:

   1. (1) That the parent and child relationship is of fundamental importance to the welfare of a child, and that the relationship between a child and each parent should be fostered unless inconsistent with the child's best interests;
   2. (2) That parents have the responsibility to make decisions and perform other parenting functions necessary for the care and growth of their children;
   3. (3) That the courts, when allocating parenting functions and responsibilities with respect to the child in a divorce, dissolution of marriage, legal separation, annulment, or any other proceeding addressing the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities, must determine the child's best interests;

   4. (4) That the courts and parents must take into consideration the following general principles when allocating parental rights and responsibilities and developing appropriate terms for parenting plans:

      1. (a) Children are served by a parenting arrangement that best provides for a child's safety, emotional growth, health, stability, and physical care.
      2. (b) Exposure of the child to harmful parental conflict should be minimized as much as possible.
      3. (c) Whenever appropriate, parents should be encouraged to meet their responsibilities to their children through agreements rather than by relying on judicial intervention.
      4. (d) When a parenting plan provides for mutual decision-making responsibility by the parents but they are unable to make decisions mutually, they should make a good faith effort to utilize the mediation process as required by the parenting plan.
      5. (e) In apportioning between the parents the daily physical living arrangements of the child and the child's location during legal and school holidays, vacations, and days of special importance, a court should not impose any type of standard schedule unless a standard schedule meets the needs of the child better than any proposed alternative parenting plan.
2. (B) It is, therefore, the purpose of this chapter, when it is in the child's best interest, to foster the relationship between the child and each parent when a court allocates parental rights and responsibilities with respect to the child in a divorce, dissolution, legal separation, annulment, or any other proceeding addressing the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities.

Last updated January 1, 2025 at 5:55 AM