A parenting plan is a document signed by parents or custodians of a child during a divorce or separation. From weekly living schedules and financial guidelines to communication protocols, PPs provide a futuristic roadmap for child-rearing. More than a document, a solid parenting plan protects your child from a life of instability & emotional distress.
In a custody case, you and the other parent will have to co-create a parenting plan. If that plan meets legal standards, the judge may make it part of the final court order. But if you’re unable to reach an agreement, the judge will step in and make a plan for you, based on what they think is best for the child.
A parenting plan helps you clarify the following:
- Where does the child live every day of the week, month, and year?
- Who gets to ‘keep’ the child on which holidays?
- What if a parent has to relocate or travel?
- What if a parent is called to military duty?
- Who pays for which child-related expenses?
- Who pays child support to whom, and how much?
- What are the protocols of communication between co-parents and between parent and child?
- How to resolve disputes between co-parents?
What We Offer
A well-crafted PP template is a quick & handy resource for courts, lawyers, and parents going through a separation or divorce (or even those planning for one).
By covering and framing the most critical points of discussion in custody cases, we give you a default framework to work with.
Fill in the blank spaces with relevant information and check the boxes that apply to you – it’s as simple as that. Because our template is 100% editable, you can remove any clauses that are not relevant to you or place them in a different order. You can also change the text, fonts, and formatting as you see fit.
Once finalised, you are advised to consult a family law attorney before submitting your plan in court. Only a lawyer can help you meet the required legal standards on a case-by-case basis, based on relevant state & federal laws.
What Does the Law Say?
In the U.S., most states require a parent plan in custody cases involving minors. But specifics of what a plan must cover, or when it must be submitted, vary by state. So always make sure to check with your local state laws & procedures first!
For example, states like Georgia and West Virginia offer more flexibility, allowing parents to submit plans at the court’s discretion or encouraging joint agreements. While others, like Illinois and Tennessee, have more detailed mandates for comprehensive planning for the child’s well-being.
A Quick User’s Guide to Our Template
Here’s a condensed manual that walks you through each page & clause of our template:
Page 1
- Identify the state and county where the child & co-parents live. This tells you which laws, procedures & other requirements will govern the agreement.
- For reference, specify the date when the agreement is made.
- Add the full legal names and contact information of both parents (to be referred to as Parent A and Parent B throughout the template).
- Identify who the plan is for. You can add the names & DOBs of up to four children in our default template. You can add more using an editable version of the file.
- Clause I: Check the relevant box to indicate who has legal custody of the child: Parent A, Parent B, or both (joint legal custody).
Page 2
- Clause II: Select the relevant option to specify which physical custody arrangement applies to you:
Now,
- In case of primary physical custody, specify which parent is the primary one.
- In case of sole physical custody, specify which parent shall have sole custody.
- Select the third option if you are going for joint physical custody.
- Clause II(a): Fill out our built-in weekly schedule table to clarify who the child shall live with each day of the week, and any other relevant details.
Here’s what a filled-out schedule might look like:
| Day | Parties | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Parent A | Parent A picks up child from school or daycare and has overnight custody. |
| Tuesday | Parent A | Parent A continues overnight custody. School drop-off by Parent A. |
| Wednesday | Parent B | Parent B picks up child after school and has overnight custody. |
| Thursday | Parent B | Parent B continues overnight custody. School drop-off by Parent B. |
| Friday | Parent A | Parent A picks up child after school for weekend custody. |
| Saturday | Parent A | Parent A has full day and overnight custody. |
| Sunday | Parent B (switch) | Parent B picks up child at 5 PM for overnight and next week starts. |
- Clause II(b): Select the first option if no special arrangements are to be made around holidays such as Christmas or Independence Day. Select the second option if you plan to divide holiday parenting time. Now, use the table below to specify which parent gets the child on which holiday every even or odd year:
Note:
We only cover the following federal holidays, but depending on which state you live in, you may want to add other holidays to the list:
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- President’s Day
- Spring Break
- Easter
- Mother’s Day
- Memorial Day
- Father’s Day
- Independence Day
- Labour Day
- Thanksgiving
- Hanukkah
- Christmas
Do legal and physical custody mean the same thing in all U.S States?
The above clauses reflect the practice under UCCJEA, or the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). Enforceable across 49 US States (Excepting Massachusetts), this law was designed to tackle the complexities of interstate custody cases. By ensuring that custody orders are enforced across state lines, courts are better able to protect the best interests of children, especially victims of child abuse.
Page 3
- Clause III: Specify how many weeks of vacation time each parent is entitled to spend with the child. Also, specify the number of days of advance notice that must be provided by the parent planning a vacation to the other parent.
- Clause IV: Designate an exact physical location where the child shall be exchanged between the two parties to avoid any confusion or inconvenience later on.
- Clause V: Specify if transportation costs are to be shared, or paid solely by Parent A or Parent B. If none of the above, check the box titled ‘Other’ and specify your chosen arrangement in the blank space below.
Page 4
- Clause VI: Select the relevant box to confirm whether either parent of the child can relocate. If they can, you will need to specify the duration of the advance prior notice of their move to the other parent. Please refer to your state-specific relocation laws. For example, in California, a parent must give at least 45 days’ notice before moving (Family Code § 3024). But if relocation is restricted (second box), you will need to identify a mile zone beyond which relocating is not allowed.
- Clause VII: To deal with a situation when either parent is travelling with the child, you will need to specify what counts as ‘out of area travel’ in terms of the co-approved number of miles from either parent’s primary residence.
- Clause VIII (a): When it comes to communicating with the child, it’s important to have a clear schedule to foster a healthy relationship with both parents. Our template offers four different ways to create that schedule:
- Select 1st box if there is no bar to when either parent can speak to the child.
- Select the 2nd box if communication is to be limited to certain hours of every day (hours to be filled in by user)
- Select the 3rd box if you want to limit communication to specific hours or specific days (hours & days to be filled in)
- Select ‘Other’ if you want to create a custom schedule.
- Clause VIII (b): It’s also important to specify the mode of communication between the parent & child. Options include phone, text, email, or ‘Others’ like video calls.
- When either parent changes their contact information, say, moves to a different neighborhood or gets a new phone number, the other must be updated. Use this section to identify how long the parent has to inform the other parent of the change (number of days to be specified by the user).
Page 4 – 5
- Clause IX: To avoid confusion later, it’s important to be upfront about who’s paying for the child’s education. Use our default option to specify if all education-related costs are to be borne by parent A, parent B, shared equally, or to be allocated in any other way, which then must be detailed in the space below.
- Clause X: Having a clear understanding of who is paying for the child’s health insurance is a top priority for courts. Use this clause to specify if insurance is to be arranged by parent A, parent B, shared equally, or to be covered in any other way, which must be detailed in the space below. The same choice is offered for medical expenses NOT covered by health insurance (Clause XI).
Page 5-6
- Clause XII: This clause was added to cover all other miscellaneous costs of raising a child. We already cover three basic ones for you: Extracurriculars (like dance or music), Clothing & personal items, and Special events (holidays, etc.). For each expense, you will need to clarify if the financial responsibility is on parent A, parent B, on both equally, or to be calculated on a custom basis. You can add additional costs after selecting the ‘Other’ box and specifying what the cost is, and who must bear it.
- Clause XIII: Often, courts make it mandatory upon one parent to pay the other in child support. Select the first box if child support payment is not relevant to your case. If it is, you must check the second box and go on to insert the following details:
- Amount of child support in $
- On what day of each month will payment be processed
- An indication of until when such payments must be made (specify event in space provided)
Page 7
- Clause XIV: This clause deals with the situation when either parent is deployed on military duty, in which case the parenting schedule and other plan specifics may be adjusted. Many states have statutes offering protections for active-duty parents. Parents subject to military deployment are encouraged to review local statutes such as Florida Statutes § 61.13002, which allow temporary modifications to parenting plans during deployment.
- Clause XV: Claiming a child as a dependent can lower tax liability. That’s why it’s important to be clear as to who gets to claim the child for tax purposes. This clause has been designed to help you allocate tax-related benefits associated with each child.
IRS rules vs. court order – what takes precedence?
Under IRS rules, the custodial parent has the default right to claim the child as a dependent. So, even if a court-endorsed parenting plan assigns tax claim rights, the IRS only recognizes the custodial parent unless the non-custodial parent submits IRS Form 8332. This form is signed by the custodial parent, saying, “I give up my claim to the exemption for this child for this year (or future years).”
You have three options:
- Select the first option if Parent A is to be given the permanent & exclusive right to claim the child for tax purposes.
- Check the second option if this right is to be given to Parent B.
- If you are looking for a more 50/50 balance, select the third box where both parents get to alternate; for each child, you will have to identify which parent (A or B) gets to claim the child for which set of years (specify odd or even).
Either way, you will need to specify the names of the children in question. You can add up to four names in our default version, but feel free to add more using an editable file version.
Page 8
- Clause XX: Specify which state has jurisdiction over any disputes arising out of the agreement. This may or may not be the same state specified at the beginning of the document. Determining which laws apply to your parenting plan beforehand minimizes confusion in case of disagreements or disputes down the road.
- Clause XXI: If there are any other terms that either parent wants to have in writing but which have not been covered under our standard clauses, you can add them here as Additional Terms.
- Signatures: To formalize the parenting plan, both parents must add their dated signatures before submitting the document in a court of law. Once signed and approved by the court, this parenting plan becomes a binding legal order. Failure to comply may result in enforcement actions such as contempt proceedings.
Who Is Our Template For?
- Separated or divorced parents (or those planning to separate)
- Family law professionals (attorneys, mediators, court officials) assisting in custody cases
- Courts as part of custody or family law proceedings
What Does a Parenting Plan Template Do?
- Promote the best interests of children of divorce or separation
- Reduce conflict between parents by setting clear expectations about each parent’s rights & responsibilities
- Ensure consistent co-parenting and decision-making
- Serve as a legally binding agreement that can be enforced by the courts if necessary
Wrap Up
In short, a modern parenting plan moves beyond the outdated notions of “custody” and “visitation,” placing greater emphasis on co-parenting. Remember, children do best when they receive the emotional and financial support of both parents.
Use our pre-prepared parenting plan template to clearly outline each parent’s rights & responsibilities towards the child, and avoid any confusion, disagreements, disputes & inconveniences later on.
Template Summary
Our template is a structured, court-admissible document you can use to formalize details about the custody, care, and upbringing of children during a separation or divorce proceeding. It contains dedicated sections for legal custody, physical custody, visitation schedules, communication rules, expenses, and more.
Our template can be used to establish a permanent and practical solution for co-parents who can use it to solve disputes and avoid misunderstandings over, Custody and visitation rights, Holiday and vacation schedules, Financial responsibilities (e.g., child support, healthcare, education costs), Parental communication and conduct, Relocation or travel permissions, as well as emergency or future planning (e.g., military service, death of a parent).
