During a divorce journey, it’s common to create a parenting agreement that details custody arrangements and children-related protocols. However, there are many instances when these types of plans need to be reassessed.

I’m a divorce mediator and collaborative family law attorney with over 15 years of personal and professional experience in this process. I work with divorcing spouses to create their parenting agreements and I also offer co-parenting guidance to families after their divorce. In addition, I’m a mom and stepmom who has personally raised five children under two separate custody agreements. My husband and I have made several revisions and updates to our parenting plans over the years.

It’s hard to believe that we’re talking about back to school season already. Looking back, it feels like summer just started yesterday – another few months gone by too fast. My husband and I are getting ready to send our youngest child back to high school in just a few short weeks. Our four older children have since graduated, so this is the last child we have going through K-12 education. The back to school routine has been part of our lives together for the past 12 years as we’ve co-parented our five children with two separate parenting agreements. 

As you get ready to send your child to college for the first time, you’re likely overwhelmed with emotion. As a mother and stepmother of teenagers and young adults, I know these feelings too well. My husband and I are in the process of sending our third child into his freshman year of college. We have two older children as well, so this isn’t our first experience. While the personal emotions of seeing your children grow up and leave home do not get easier, there are things you can do to make the process easier in terms of legal and financial issues. 

College planning with your children can be difficult and time consuming. If you’re a divorced parent, there’s another layer of complexity associated with the process. As a mother of two and stepmother of three, I can relate. My husband and I just went through this earlier this year – for the third and fourth time - with my son and his middle son.