Frequently asked questions

The plan covers the regular parenting schedule and parenting time, holiday and vacation arrangements, how special occasions are shared, decision making responsibility for education, healthcare, and extracurricular activities, communication between parents, child support including section 7 expenses, and provisions for reviewing arrangements as children grow. It is a complete parenting agreement, not a basic custody schedule.

Fairway's mediators are trained to move beyond yes/no standoffs by asking each parent what they would need to see or know in order to feel comfortable with a particular arrangement. This makes the criteria for agreement observable and specific. Where a parenting issue involves a child's particular needs, the mediator may also recommend outside support — from a child specialist, counsellor, or for independent legal advice — before the plan is finalised.

Child support is set by the federal Child Support Guidelines based on the paying parent's income and the number of children. It is not a negotiated figure — it is law, designed to ensure children receive consistent financial support. Section 7 expenses covering childcare, medical needs, and extracurricular activities are shared proportionally based on each parent's income and are addressed within the parenting plan.

Children's voices matter, and Fairway's approach takes them seriously in an age-appropriate way. For older children, parents are supported in thinking about how to incorporate their child's preferences into the parenting arrangement — particularly around parenting time and decisions that affect them directly — without placing the responsibility for those decisions on the children themselves. What works at different ages is part of what the parenting discussions explore.

Yes — and the plan is designed with that in mind. Parenting arrangements that work well when children are young often need to evolve as they get older. The Nurtured Children Plan™ includes provisions for how either parent can request a review of the arrangement and how changes can be agreed without returning to a formal process. The goal is a plan that stays useful as the children's lives change.

Under Canadian family law, the concept of legal custody is increasingly replaced by decision making responsibility and parenting time, which better reflect how modern parenting arrangements work. In most Fairway files, both parents retain shared decision making authority on important decisions — education, healthcare, and significant life choices — while parenting time is arranged in a schedule built around the children. Where sole custody is appropriate to the specific circumstances, the mediator addresses that within the parenting discussions.