Today Grace and Con sat down for a grueling two hours to write out the terms of their custody agreement. Both felt that it was best to have the details down in writing, and Grace even has an appointment with a judge next week to get it officially approved. It has all been managed with few hiccups, but my head positively spins with all the legal language.
Grace has sole legal custody, which means she makes the decisions for Shep’s well-being. Physical custody, however, will be joint. Shep will live with Grace, but he will pass two weekends of every month with Con, and they will alternate holidays, provided that the family will not be spending said holidays together.
As of right now, it seems that they will be together quite often. Ever since Grace’s father realized that Con was serious about being a part of his son’s life, tensions have eased among the members of the family. Though Grace’s mother is still a bit wary with him, their relationships in general have improved.
And Con has proved himself to be a dutiful father. He comes to see Shep whenever he gets the chance and is a deft hand at feeding, burping, and changing. Just as important, he regularly contributes financially to both Grace’s daily expense account and to the college fund she has just established.
Finances were a bit of a rough spot in the agreement—as matters stand now, Grace is more well-off than Con, and she wanted to tell Con that such contributions were unnecessary. He was adamant, however, that he was going to help, even if only in a small part. “This way,” he explained, “I’ll know I’m taking care of him even when I’m not there.”
This made Grace smile. The smile disappeared as they set to work on the mathematics of percentages, monthly payments, and special costs, but they finally got everything worked out.
Finally, at the end of all their deliberations, Grace added a paragraph at the bottom of the document stating her willingness to consider any revisions to the agreement that Con might propose in future. “We don’t know how things will change,” she explained to him, “but I want us always to be able to talk about it. We owe that to Shep.” She glanced up and smiled. “And you’re not going anywhere, are you?”
Con looked at Shep, asleep on a pillow at Grace’s feet. “Nope,” he said, his throat only a little tight.
So the document was printed and signed and is ready for consideration by the authorities. I have high hopes that it will be approved, and that this document, a combination of careful logic and the deep love of a family, will hold them together for many years to come.