Amid all the other discussions you and your ex might have about child custody, you may have talked (or argued) about how to approach the issue of religion. For some couples the topic is limited to what services the parent who has the children on the holidays will attend. But in the case of interfaith marriages, it's a much bigger and ongoing issue.

The discussion can get very detailed fairly quickly. Will one or both parents front the cost of a bar mitzvah? What about Catholic school tuition? Will the children go with their custodial parent to church every weekend? These details can all be spelled out in a written agreement, but shouldn't be done hastily. Both parents need to consider what will be important both to them and their children years down the road.

A custody agreement can be as detailed as you and your ex want it to be, which can go a long way toward preventing fights over religion. Just make sure you don't get in too deep. A rule stipulating that the children only celebrate Christmas every other year or one that puts limits on the number of religious services your children attend with your ex might create more problems than it solves.

You should also avoid confusing your children. If one of you is Jewish and the other Christian, talk about how you will share your different religions with your children in a way that isn't combative or inconsistent. As an example, one couple signed a document that bars either parent from speaking critically of the other's faith or talking about their own religion in a way that made the children think they were one religion or the other.

Whatever you decide, it doesn't hurt to revisit the agreement as your children form their own beliefs and religious identity. If the document you signed with your ex doesn't jibe with your child's own faith, there's no reason you can't have a new discussion with both your child and your ex about religion, rather than sticking to an old agreement purely on principle.

Source: Washington Post, "Divorce's details: Custody agreements are getting more complex," Michelle Boorstein, Dec. 26, 2011