Parenting Plan

A parenting plan is a written agreement between parents that describes how they will share time and responsibilities for their children after a divorce, separation, or custody case. It covers legal custody (who makes major decisions), physical custody (where the child lives), a parenting time schedule, and how parents will communicate and resolve disagreements.

In Minnesota, parenting plans must be consistent with the child’s best interests as defined by the 12 factors in Minn. Stat. § 518.17, subd. 1(a) . The court reviews every parenting plan to make sure it serves the child, not just the parents.

When to Use This Template

• Divorce with children: You and your spouse are divorcing and need to establish custody and parenting time arrangements
• Custody petition: You are filing a custody petition outside of a divorce (unmarried parents, for example)
• Modification: You and the other parent agree to change an existing custody order and need to put the new terms in writing for court approval
• Mediation outcome: You reached agreement in mediation and need a written plan to submit to the court
• Attached to a marital settlement agreement: You are using this plan as the custody section of a Marital Settlement Agreement

How to Use This Template

1. Download the template in your preferred format (PDF or DOCX).
2. Fill in both parents’ full legal names, addresses, and the names and birth dates of all children covered by the plan.
3. Choose your custody arrangement. Decide on legal custody (joint or sole) and physical custody (joint or sole with a primary residence). See the Key Provisions section below for what each type means.
4. Create a parenting time schedule. Write out the regular weekly schedule, plus plans for holidays, school breaks, summer vacation, and special occasions like birthdays. Be as specific as possible — vague schedules cause conflict later.
5. Address decision-making. Describe how parents will make major decisions about education, health care, religion, and extracurricular activities.
6. Include communication and dispute resolution provisions. Describe how parents will communicate about the child, and what happens when they disagree (mediation before returning to court).
7. Address transportation, relocation, and right of first refusal. See the Key Provisions section below.
8. Both parents sign the plan before a notary public.
9. File the signed plan with the court as part of your divorce petition, custody petition, or modification request.

Key Provisions Explained

Legal Custody

Legal custody is the right to make major decisions about your child’s upbringing. This includes decisions about education, health care, religion, and extracurricular activities.

• Joint legal custody means both parents share the right to make major decisions. Minnesota has a rebuttable presumption in favor of joint legal custody ( § 518.17, subd. 2 ), which means the court assumes joint legal custody is best unless there is a good reason not to order it.
• Sole legal custody means one parent has the exclusive right to make major decisions. The court may award sole legal custody when parents cannot communicate or cooperate well enough to make joint decisions, or when there is a history of domestic abuse.

Your plan should specify how joint decision-making works in practice. For example: Will one parent have final say on education and the other on health care? Must both parents agree before enrolling a child in a new activity? What happens when parents cannot agree?

Physical Custody

Physical custody determines where the child lives on a day-to-day basis.

• Joint physical custody means the child lives with each parent for significant periods of time. This does not have to be exactly 50/50 — it means both parents provide a home for the child.
• Sole physical custody means the child lives primarily with one parent. The other parent typically has a regular parenting time schedule.

Your plan should name the child’s primary residence for school enrollment and other purposes, even if you share physical custody equally.

Parenting Time Schedule

This is the most detailed section of your plan. Include:

Regular schedule: Write out the exact days and times the child is with each parent during a typical week. For example: “Child is with Parent A from Monday after school until Wednesday morning. Child is with Parent B from Wednesday after school until Friday morning. Weekends alternate starting Friday after school.”

Holiday schedule: List every major holiday and how they will be shared. Common approaches include alternating holidays by year (Parent A has Thanksgiving in even years, Parent B in odd years) or splitting the day. Holidays to address include:

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Presidents’ Day
• Easter / Spring Break
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving (including the day after)
• Winter Break / Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
• Each parent’s birthday
• Each child’s birthday
• Mother’s Day and Father’s Day

School breaks: Address fall break, winter break, spring break, and any other school holidays. State exactly when the break schedule starts and ends, and how it interacts with the regular schedule.

Summer vacation: Describe how summer is shared. Many plans give each parent an extended block of time (two to four weeks) during the summer, with the regular schedule in effect the rest of the time.

Special occasions: Consider how to handle school events, sports games, concerts, and other activities that fall during the other parent’s time.

The 12 Best Interests Factors

Minnesota law requires the court to consider 12 specific factors when evaluating any custody or parenting time arrangement ( § 518.17, subd. 1(a) ). Your plan should be consistent with all of them:

1. The child’s physical, emotional, cultural, and spiritual needs and the effect of the proposed arrangement on those needs
2. Any special medical, mental health, or educational needs that require special parenting arrangements
3. Whether domestic abuse has occurred in the parents’ relationship
4. Each parent’s physical, mental, and emotional health and its effect on the child
5. The child’s relationship with each parent before and during the proceeding
6. The child’s adjustment to home, school, and community
7. The benefit of maximizing parenting time with both parents and the detriment of limiting it
8. Each parent’s willingness and ability to encourage the child’s relationship with the other parent
9. The effect of changes on the child’s well-being
10. The child’s preference (if old enough to express a meaningful preference)
11. Each parent’s cultural background and its effect on the child
12. The disposition of each parent to support the child’s relationship with the other parent

Domestic Abuse Presumption

If there is a history of domestic abuse, Minnesota law creates a rebuttable presumption against joint legal or joint physical custody ( § 518.17, subd. 2 ). This means the court will not order joint custody unless the abusive parent proves it is in the child’s best interests. If domestic abuse is part of your situation, consult an attorney and contact one of the resources listed at the bottom of this page.

Communication Between Parents

Your plan should describe how parents will communicate about the child:

• Method: Phone, text, email, or a co-parenting app (such as OurFamilyWizard, which many Minnesota courts recommend or require)
• Response time: How quickly each parent should respond to non-emergency messages (for example, within 24 hours)
• Emergency contact: How to reach the other parent in an emergency
• Child’s communication with the absent parent: The child’s right to call, text, or video chat with the other parent at reasonable times

Dispute Resolution

Your plan should include a process for resolving disagreements before going back to court. Minnesota courts favor mediation. A typical provision states:

• Parents will first try to resolve disagreements through direct communication
• If they cannot agree, they will attend mediation with a qualified mediator before filing a motion with the court
• Each parent pays half the mediation cost (or another arrangement)
• Emergency situations involving safety are exempt from the mediation requirement

Transportation

Describe how the child will get from one parent’s home to the other:

• Who drives for pickups and drop-offs
• Where exchanges happen (home, school, a neutral public location)
• How transportation costs are shared if parents live far apart
• What happens if a parent is late for pickup

Relocation

Include a provision about what happens if either parent wants to move. Under Minnesota law ( § 518.175, subd. 3 ), a parent who wants to move the child’s residence to another state or more than a certain distance must give the other parent notice and may need court permission. Your plan should:

• Require written notice at least 60 days before a proposed move
• Describe how the parenting time schedule would change if one parent moves
• State that the moving parent bears the burden of showing the move is in the child’s best interests

Right of First Refusal

A right of first refusal clause means that when one parent needs child care during their parenting time (for example, a work trip or evening out), they must first offer that time to the other parent before hiring a babysitter. Your plan should specify:

• The minimum length of absence that triggers the right (for example, more than 4 hours)
• How much notice the parent must give
• How the other parent accepts or declines

Minnesota-Specific Requirements

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Being too vague. A plan that says “parents will share time equally” without specifying exact days and times will lead to conflict. Write out every detail — which days, what times, where exchanges happen.
2. Ignoring holidays. If your plan does not address holidays, you will end up in a disagreement every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and summer. List every holiday and describe the arrangement.
3. Forgetting school breaks. Address fall break, winter break, spring break, and summer vacation. State whether the regular schedule applies during breaks or a different schedule takes over.
4. Not including a dispute resolution process. Without a mediation requirement, every disagreement goes straight to court, which is expensive and slow.
5. Making the plan about the parents, not the child. The court evaluates your plan against the 12 best interests factors. Focus on what serves your child’s needs, stability, and relationships.
6. Overlooking transportation logistics. If parents live 30 minutes apart, who drives? If one parent moves farther away, how does that change things? Address this now.
7. Not addressing communication. Describe how parents will communicate about the child, including response times and methods. Poor communication is the most common source of post-divorce conflict.
8. Forgetting the right of first refusal. Without this provision, your child may spend time with a babysitter when the other parent was available and willing.
9. Ignoring the domestic abuse presumption. If domestic abuse is part of your history, the court will not approve a standard joint custody arrangement. Address safety concerns directly in your plan.
10. Not planning for changes. Children grow and their needs change. Include a provision for reviewing the plan periodically (for example, when a child starts school, becomes a teenager, or a parent’s work schedule changes).

Modifying Your Parenting Plan

Life changes, and your parenting plan may need to change with it. Under Minnesota law, you can modify custody and parenting time if there has been a significant change in circumstances since the last order and the modification is in the child’s best interests ( Minn. Stat. § 518.18 ).

Common reasons for modification include:

• A parent’s relocation for work or family
• A child starting school or changing schools
• Significant changes in a parent’s work schedule
• A child’s changing needs as they grow older (for example, a teenager who wants more time with friends or needs to be closer to school)
• Safety concerns that were not present when the original plan was made
• A parent’s failure to follow the existing plan

If both parents agree to the change, you can file a stipulated modification with the court. Write up the new terms, both parents sign, and submit to the court for approval. If you do not agree, the parent requesting the change must file a motion and prove the modification is justified.

Important: Do not simply stop following the existing plan because you think it needs to change. The current court order remains in effect until the court approves a new one. Violating a custody order can result in contempt of court.

Related Documents

If you are divorcing, the parenting plan is typically attached to or incorporated into the Marital Settlement Agreement. Both documents are filed together with the court.

Related Resources

Child Custody in Minnesota

• Minnesota Judicial Branch - Child Custody and Parenting Time – court forms and self-help resources for custody cases
• Minnesota State Bar Association - Lawyer Referral – find a family law attorney