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FORM 26. Pertinent Custody and Visitation Clauses To Consider Including in a Separation Agreement (a) Optional: The parties shall have joint custody of the unemancipated children of the parties, irrespective of whether the children shall reside with the Mother or the Father and each shall be equally responsible for the supervision, control, and care of the children. The arrangement will afford both parties ample opportunity to enjoy the children's society and to participate in a harmonious policy best calculated to promote the interests of the children. Or: Legal custody of the unemancipated children of the parties shall be given to the (specify). (b) The parties acknowledge that the children's wishes are to be considered in connection with the exercise of visitation rights, and each party agrees that he or she shall encourage the children in anticipating periods of visitation with the other. (c) Each of the parties hereto agrees to keep the other informed at all times of the whereabouts of the children when with the Father, or the Mother, respectively, and they mutually agree that if either of them has any knowledge of any illness or accident, school problems, or other circumstances affecting the children's health or general welfare, the Father or the Mother, as the case may be, will promptly notify the other of such circumstances. (d) The parties shall consult with each other with respect to the children's education, illnesses and operations (except in emergencies), health, welfare, and other matters of similar importance affecting the children whose well-being, education, and development shall, at all times, be the paramount consideration of the Father and Mother; (e) Each party agrees that, in the event of acute illness of the children at any time, the other party shall have the right of reasonable visitation with the children at the place of confinement. (f) Each parent shall be entitled to complete, detailed information from any pediatrician, general physician, dentist, consultant, or specialist attending the children for any reason whatsoever and to receive, upon request, copies of any reports given by them, or any of them, to the other parent; (g) Each parent shall have the right of reasonable, unhampered telephone communications with the children and shall provide to the other parent a telephone number for that purpose; (h) From the date hereof, the children shall reside with (specify, for example, the Mother). The Father shall have liberal visitation rights. While the children are residing with the Mother, the Father shall have the right to visit the children outside the Mother's residence during two (2) weekday (Monday through Thursday) evenings per week between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. and two (2) weekends (Friday between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. through Sunday between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m.) per month in accordance with arrangements mutually made with the Father and the children on reasonable (72-hour) prior notice by the Father to the Mother; (i) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the children shall reside with the Father for (specify) full weeks during each and every Summer, such visitation being on a consecutive basis; on Father's Day if at that time they are residing with the Mother. For at least four (4) hours on the child's birthday, the parent with whom the child is not then living shall have the right of visitation in accordance with arrangements mutually made with the visiting parent and the child on reasonable prior notice by the visiting parent to the other parent; (j) The parties shall alternate visitation on major school holidays from year to year; for example, the children shall reside with the Father for four (4) days from 9:00 a.m. Thursday to 7:00 p.m. Sunday every other Thanksgiving; for a full week every other Christmas and Easter holiday, etc. (k) Optional: If either party shall fail to comply with any of the provisions of this Article, or in the event a dispute or controversy should arise among the parties hereto, the subject matter of this Agreement or the Agreement,

the parties agree to submit their dispute to binding arbitration in (specify location) under the then prevailing rules of the American Arbitration Association. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding and the party obtaining a favorable decision may initiate a proceeding in any court having competent jurisdiction for the purposes of enforcing an award hereunder. Or: If either party shall fail to comply with any of the provisions of this Article, the other party shall have the right to initiate a proceeding in the (specify) Court, for such relief as may be appropriate under the circumstances. The prevailing party shall be entitled to recover all reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred as a result of such an action; (l) Although the parties hereby acknowledge that nothing herein contained shall be construed as an obligation or duty on the part of a party to exercise rights of visitation, nevertheless they acknowledge the need for planning activities for the children and further acknowledge that disappointing a child may have serious, adverse effects upon the child. Accordingly, each party agrees that on all occasions when he or she does not plan to exercise rights of visitation or expects to be early or late in so doing or intends to return the children at an earlier or later hour, as much advance notice as reasonably possible will be given to the other party in order that appropriate plans will be made for the children; (m) The parties shall exert every reasonable effort to maintain free access and unhampered contact between the children and each of the parties and to foster a feeling of affection between the children and the other party. Neither party shall do anything which may estrange the child from the other party or injure the children's opinion as to the Mother or Father or which may hamper the free and natural development of the children's love and respect for the other party; (n) Each party covenants, represents, and warrants not, at any time or for any reason, to cause the children to be known or identified or designated by any name other than (specify) and both parties covenant, represent and warrant that they will not initiate or permit the designations of "Father" and/or "Mother" or their equivalent, to be used by the children with reference to any person other than the parties hereto; (o) In no event shall the children be adopted without express, prior written consent of each of the parties; (p) Nothing herein shall bar or limit the parties from discussing and agreeing upon modifications of the provisions set forth in this Article; (q) Reference herein to "child" shall refer to the unemancipated (Note: under 18 to 21 depending on the law in your state) children of the parties; (r) Should either party die or become seriously incapacitated mentally or physically while the children are still of minor age, the guardianship and custody of the minor children shall remain wholly and exclusively with the other party; (s) It is the parties' intention to exercise fully all rights of visitation as herein provided but the exercises thereof shall be entirely optional, and failure to exercise such right on any particular occasion shall not be deemed or construed or constitute a waiver of a right thereafter to full compliance with the provisions hereof; (t) Neither party shall remove the residence of the children beyond a radius of fifty (50) miles from their present residence without prior, written consent of the other party. If (specify, for example, the Mother) shall remove the residence of the children beyond said radius without the consent of the Father or the Court, such failure to obtain consent shall be presumptive of the right of the Father to obtain legal custody of the children and to terminate further payments under this agreement to the Wife for her support and maintenance. In addition, it shall entitle the Father to pursue all other remedies available to him under the circumstances, including (specify).