Minnesota Parenting Plan: What to Include

A parenting plan that says "the parents will share time as mutually agreed" is a ticking time bomb. It works perfectly when you are getting along and falls apart the first time someone changes plans without notice. Minnesota judges know this, which is why Minn. Stat. Section 518.1705 requires specific structural elements in every enforceable parenting plan.

Here is what the law requires and what you should add voluntarily to prevent the disputes that drag families back to court.

Three Mandatory Elements

Under Subdivision 2 of Section 518.1705, every parenting plan filed in Minnesota must include:

1. A concrete parenting time schedule. Not "every other weekend" — specific days, pickup times, drop-off times, and exchange locations. The court wants to see a schedule detailed enough that a stranger could follow it.

2. Decision-making responsibilities. You must designate who has authority over three major areas: education, healthcare, and religious training. This is your legal custody arrangement. Under joint legal custody, both parents decide together. Under sole legal custody, one parent decides alone.

3. A dispute resolution method. The plan must specify how you will handle future disagreements, including any steps before seeking court intervention. Common options include private mediation, a parenting time expeditor (a neutral third party whose written decision is binding unless modified or vacated by the court), or a parenting consultant whose role is defined by the parties' agreement and incorporated into a court order.

Essential Optional Provisions

The mandatory elements cover the minimum. These additional provisions address the situations that actually cause conflict:

Holiday and vacation schedule. Specify exact holidays by name (Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, each parent's birthday, the child's birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day) and state which parent has the child each year. Most families alternate or split holidays. Summer vacation blocks should include specific date ranges and a deadline for notifying the other parent.

Right of first refusal. If the parent with the child needs a babysitter for more than a set number of hours (commonly four), the other parent gets first option to take the child instead. Define the time threshold and how much notice is required.

Transportation and exchange logistics. Who drives? Where do exchanges happen? Neutral public locations (schools, libraries, police station lobbies) reduce conflict. Specify who covers transportation costs for long-distance arrangements.

Communication rules. How often can the child call or video chat with the other parent? Can either parent monitor the calls? What apps are acceptable? Establish clear boundaries that protect the child's relationship with both parents.

Extracurricular activities. Can one parent enroll the child in activities that fall on the other parent's time? How are costs split? A common approach: both parents must agree before enrollment, and costs are divided proportionally based on income.

Travel and passport provisions. For out-of-state or international travel, specify written notice requirements, who holds the child's passport, and how far in advance notice must be given. Separately, a parent with whom the child resides may not move the child's primary residence to another state without the other parent's written consent or a court order.

Introduction of new partners. Some plans include a waiting period (e.g., six months of dating) before introducing a new romantic partner to the child, or require that the other parent be notified first.

Common Parenting Plan Mistakes

Being too vague. "Reasonable parenting time" is not a schedule. If you cannot agree on what "reasonable" means in six months, you have no enforceable order.

Forgetting school breaks. The regular weekly schedule does not cover winter break, spring break, teacher in-service days, or snow days. Address each one explicitly.

Ignoring age-appropriate adjustments. A schedule that works for a toddler will not work for a teenager. Consider including built-in review dates (e.g., "the parties will review and adjust the schedule before the child begins kindergarten and again at age 12").

No mechanism for changes. Life changes — jobs, health, moves. Include a process for proposing schedule changes and resolving disputes, but remember that an agreed modification must be confirmed by a court order to be enforceable.

Building Your Plan

The Minnesota Child Custody and Parenting Plan Guide includes a clause-by-clause parenting plan walkthrough that covers every provision above, plus worksheets for calculating overnight counts and organizing your holiday rotation. It is designed to help you draft a plan detailed enough that your mediator or judge has nothing to fill in.

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