There is no doubt that times are changing as far as maternity and paternity are concerned: divorces and separations are becoming more frequent and, contrary to what happened a few years ago, shared custody is a trend.
Families, far from forming a single nucleus, are becoming increasingly flexible, combining children from previous unions with new partners and/or their children.
The concept of family is changing at an accelerated pace and, as the next logical step, there is a new formula that is becoming more and more frequent: co-parenting or shared parenting without a partner. In this post we tell you what it consists of and how co-parenting is implemented from the legal point of view in Catalonia.
In addition, we take this opportunity to announce a new agreement of our firm with the company Copaternidad Barcelona to provide legal advice to those who resort to this formula, helping them to design shared custody measures and parenting plans applicable to the upbringing of their children.
Co-parenting in Catalonia: What does it consist of?
The so-called co-parenting or parenting without a partner is a formula increasingly used in our society: there are many agencies that put in contact people who feel the desire to be parents but, for various circumstances, can not do it as a couple and do not want to do it alone.
Limitations marked by love life, work demands, lack of time, economic reasons or the convenience for the child (who will have two stable references) motivate many future parents to opt for this way.
There is also the case of people for whom their sexual orientation makes it difficult to conceive and raise a child, so they must opt for other options.
As the company itself explains on its website ( copaternidadbarcelona.com), “we understand by co-parenting, or co-parenting, the fact that two people (without an affective bond between them) share the upbringing of a son or daughter. This takes place after agreeing on everything that is considered appropriate and opportune for each of the parties.” Moreover, the help of an agency is not always necessary to find a suitable ‘partner’: you can go to them together with the chosen person to implement the whole process, both from the legal and medical point of view, from the steps prior to conception to the birth of the baby.
Although this figure may seem shocking to some, the truth is that history and anthropology show us that there are (and have been) very varied models of upbringing that do not necessarily comply with the paradigm of monogamous and traditional family so settled in Spain.
Thus, as the French sociologist Martine Gross explains, co-parenting “can occur within heterosexual or homosexual couples, and perfectly exemplifies the dissociation between conjugality and legal parenthood, insofar as it implies the conception and upbringing of children jointly agreed upon between adult individuals.” From the legal point of view, as we shall see, the day-to-day life in a co-parenting scenario can be similar to that of a separated or divorced couple.The agreements reached are identical: shared custody, vacation distributionThe advantage of this is that, in principle, the absence of a previous sentimental relationship avoids certain rough edges that can occur after the breakup of a romantic relationship.
Co-parenting in Catalonia from a legal point of view
If you are wondering how co-parenting works from a legal point of view in Catalonia, the reality is that since it is the genetic material of both parties that will serve to conceive the child, the only difference is the absence of a sentimental bond or formal partnership between the parents. There will not be (because there will be no need for) neither marriage nor steady partner but of course the child will be registered in the Civil Registry as the biological child of its parents (with all the duties that this implies in terms of parental authority) and legal agreements can be reached on the upbringing of the child.
In fact, our work as legal advisors for the people who come to Copaternidad Barcelona will consist precisely in this: to establish from the beginning how the process of gestation and, of course, the development of the upbringing will be developed from the legal point of view. For this, we can make use of the same instruments as in case of divorce or separation.
Regulatory Agreement and Parentality Plan
In Catalonia, in addition to the regulatory agreement (which contains basic measures on the custody of the children), it is necessary to provide a Parentality Plan, a much more comprehensive document that includes specific and concrete measures on how the upbringing of the children will be developed.
In this case, it is advisable that the future parents agree on a framework agreement on how they will regulate the upbringing of the child.
In addition, after the birth, the final parenting agreement and parenting plan will be drawn up.
Specifically, the Parenting Plan should explain how both parents will exercise their parental responsibilities.
The commitments they make regarding the custody, care and education of the children should be set out.
Thus, the following aspects must be included in the parentality plan proposals(article 233-9 CCCat.):
- The place or places where the children will habitually live.
Rules should be included to determine which parent has custody at any given time. - 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.
- How to make decisions regarding change of address and other issues relevant to the children.
In addition, the parentality plan proposals may provide for the possibility of resorting to family mediation to resolve differences arising from the implementation of the Plan, or the desirability of modifying its content to adapt it to the needs of the different stages of the children’s lives.
In any case, the vocation of this type of documents must be of permanence: it is a question of which its content lasts in force the maximum possible time, although, of course, when the circumstances change, it can become necessary to modify what was agreed in a first moment.
It is therefore important to find a perfect balance between flexibility (for what is easily changeable) and clarity and concreteness (for key issues that are less susceptible to change).
Finally, we cannot overlook the fact that this new parenting formula raises legal challenges as the situation becomes more complicated, for example, in the presence of donors, whether of eggs or sperm.
This is a novel area for which there is no specific regulation or sufficient jurisprudence, so we face times of change and interesting interpretations of the law to accommodate this new reality, always focusing on the welfare of the child.
If you need help in any matter related to Family Law in Barcelona, please contact us.
