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→Developing parenting arrangements
==Developing parenting arrangements==
The terms the legislation uses to describe the plans that are made by parents and judges are a bit of a mess. Under the provincial ''[[Family Law Act]]'', "parenting arrangements" are arrangements about parental responsibilities and parenting time made after separation, whether those arrangements are in an agreement or in an order. "Parenting arrangements" doesn't include agreements and orders about contact. I suppose those would be called ''contact agreements'' and ''contact orders'', although the legislation doesn't say so. Under the federal ''[[Divorce Act]]'', a ''"parenting order'' " is an order about decision-making responsibility and parenting time, and a ''"contact order'' " is an order about contact just like you'd expect. A ''"parenting plan'', " on the other hand, is the part of a written agreement about decision-making responsibility, parenting time, or contact. "Parenting plan" doesn't include arbitrators' awards or judges' orders.
What's important, really, is that everyone understands what you're talking about. Although there are important differences between agreements and orders, call the plans for the care of your children after separation whatever you'd like. No one's going to get hung up on the fact that you talked about a parenting plan rather than parenting arrangements or a parenting order as long as you're clear about whether you're talking about an agreement you've made with your former partner, an award made by an arbitrator or an order made by a judge.