Existing child custody laws in North Dakota do not work as well as they could.

Divorce is most often hard. And the more the divorce is a matter for the court, given our adversarial legal system, the harder it becomes to have a good solution. And that seems especially the case when it concerns the children of divorce.

Of course, there are couples who have divorced who have acted responsibly toward their children. They may be in the majority. However, in those occasions where a child or children become the focus of passionate, say obsessive, disagreement between parents, then something must be done.

Ideally, the laws and regulations that guide families through divorce should treat all parties fairly, within reason, with the needs of any children in the family considered first and foremost. These laws and regulations should be humane. Compassionate, yet firm and frank.

The Legislature's Judicial Process Committee has endorsed changes in the state's child custody laws that do much to improve the existing situation. The proposal originated with a North Dakota State Bar Association task force. When lawmakers arrive in January to do their work, this reform of child custody should be a high priority for their attention.

Essentially the proposal does two things.

It would require parents going through divorce draft a "parenting plan" for their child or children, which would set out how the child is to be raised. The plan would determine where the child would live and what to do in case of an emergency. Basic, yes. But even reaching such a basic agreement can be difficult without cooperation or mediation. If the parents cannot agree, the court would draft the "parenting plan."

The bill would change some of the language commonly used in these cases, language that has become a hot button in disagreements in highly contested child custody cases. That might sound foolish or immaterial, however, divorces are often extremely emotional and anything that can be done to take some of the triggers out of the conflict when it comes to the children helps.

Back to essentials. The changes are about parental responsibility. There are other important issues in these dissolving relationships, but the children and their parents' responsibility to them should come first. These proposed reforms will not fix every problem or circumstance, but they could provide useful tools for parents attempting to reach responsible accommodation regarding their children.

Again, lawmakers should give these reforms a priority in the upcoming legislative session.