In October, the first girl will be born in Barcelona whose parents are not a couple and will not become one, as a result of a co-parenting model. This is a new type of family that we have already talked about in our blog, which consists of the union of people who want to be parents but do not want to maintain a romantic relationship or want to be a single parent family.
In Crespo Law we are pioneers in the legal management of co-parenting agreements. That is why we went to the program ‘La Roca’ of ‘La Sexta’ to talk about this new paradigm of family. If you have any questions,
weinvite you to contact our team of family lawyers, or leave a comment, contact us through our social networks…
Co-parenting, a new family paradigm with legal implications
One of the keys to co-parenting is that this new model of family works exactly like a divorce or separation from a legal point of view. In the same way that we design a agreement in the event of a breakup of a couple with children (in which we regulate aspects such as custody, alimony, etc.), when two people come together to conceive a baby without being a couple, a regulatory agreement with identical content must also be created. To talk about it, the program directed and presented by Nuria Roca also interviews Roberto Doctor de Miguel, future father of the first child to be born in Barcelona following this family model.
Roberto’s case serves as an example of how the encounter with this model usually takes place: people of a certain age and stability who do not want a couple relationship or cannot find the right person, but with a great desire to be parents, who discard a single-parent model, as well as other ways to achieve parenthood, such as adoption or surrogacy, usually opt for this model.
In these cases, it is usual to contact a specialized agency, such as Coparenting, with whom we actively collaborate in the design of co-parenting agreements.
Through this agency it is possible to contact compatible profiles and negotiate and give legal form to all the terms of the relationship.
It is also possible that you have already reached an agreement with a close person: in these cases an agency can help you to take the necessary steps safely.
Part of the process of building co-parenting will consist of shaping your future relationship with your child.
So the first step, before the baby is born, is to create a private agreement with all the points that need to be agreed upon.
Once the baby is born, the agreement can be drafted and ratified before the judge with the custody and other points that you have decided.
These are some of the key points of the co-parenting agreement:
- The place or places where the children will habitually live.
Rules should be included to determine which parent has custody at any given time.
It is also common to design progressive custody, taking into account the baby’s need to spend more time with the mother at first if breastfeeding is chosen. - The tasks that each parent should be responsible for in relation to the children’s daily activities.
- The manner in which changes in the guardianship should be made and, if applicable, how the costs they generate should be shared.
- The regime of relationship and communication with the children during the periods in which a parent does not have them with him/her.
- The regime of stays of the children with each of the parents during vacation periods and on dates specially designated for the children, for the parents or for their family.
- The type of education and extracurricular, training and leisure activities, if applicable.
- How to fulfill the duty to share all information about the children’s education, health and welfare.
- 8The manner of making decisions regarding change of address and other issues relevant to the children.
Regarding the gestation process, it is usual to resort to an assisted reproduction clinic that is in charge of the whole process.
Once the baby is born, the only thing left to do is to comply with what has been previously agreed and start enjoying the experience of being parents, while taking into account the needs and demands that arise as a result of the day to day.
One of the strong points of co-parenting is that there is no need for sentimental conflicts to cloud the relationship or hinder strictly educational decisions: this will make things easier when it comes to negotiating in case of discrepancy.
Finally, we remind you that filiation in these cases is clear, since it has nothing to do with the existence or not of a couple relationship, but with biological aspects and/or with the will of the parents themselves to assume that responsibility.
From our blog we thank La Sexta and ‘La Roca’ for having counted on us to give visibility to this important paradigm shift in Family Law.
In Crespo Law we are very proud to lead the change and give legal form to this type of unions. Ask us your questions without obligation.
