Can I Notarize Child Custody Agreement?
After you have crafted your child custody agreement with the other parent, you may need it notarized.
When a child custody agreement is notarized, this doesn’t make it enforceable in court. It only becomes a legally binding agreement between both parents. Remember that the court has the mandate to modify such an agreement if it’s not in the child’s best interest.
Making A Child Custody Agreement
A child custody agreement describes how both parents will take care of their child. It serves its purpose correctly if both parents agree on what is best for their child.
If your divorce is uncontested, making such an agreement becomes easy. Conversely, you may have a hard time for an uncontested divorce. In such a case, you may choose to have a divorce lawyer Toronto handle such matters to ensure you understand your legal right and responsibilities. You may also choose to have such an agreement incorporated under the Divorce Act to make it legally binding. Family issues are complex; it’s a good idea to seek legal advice.
The agreement should be made considering a few factors:
- The age of the child. The plan should be made to accommodate the change in growth.
- Parent’s lifestyle
- The child mental and physical health
- The bond between each parent
Yet, the above plans should be made with enough flexibility and how well each parent can work with the other. That way, you know you can handle any situation as it comes up. When such a custody agreement is ready, you may decide to have it notarized to make it enforceable between both parents. Appearing before a notary means that you have both agreed on the terms indicated. This way, you avoid conflict in future.
One great benefit of a notarized child custody agreement is that the court may attach some weight to it when making court orders. However, it is not bound to such an agreement.
Notarized Custody Agreement
Since this acts as a binding contract between both parents, you can use your notarized agreement as evidence in case of any conflict. You can use it to show that at one point, you had agreed on the terms indicated.
Schools systems can also use a notarized custody agreement if the child needs to use medical insurance or medical care.
Getting A Notary Public
Are you contemplating having your child custody agreement notarized? You can look for an experienced notary to witness signatures or certify it to be a true copy, and so forth.
Never risk hiring a notary who is not experienced. A good notary should be bonded and insured.
If you have a notarized custody agreement in place, it will be honored that you already had agreed on child issues outside the court. But if the judge finds the terms are not in the child’s best interest, he/she will modify it.
