What is a Minnesota parenting plan, and how is it different from a custody order?

A parenting plan is an optional alternative to a traditional custody order, created under Minn. Stat. § 518.1705. Instead of the court labeling each parent's rights as sole or joint legal and physical custody, a parenting plan allocates parenting time and decision-making responsibility directly, and parents can even define their own substitute terms for "custody" and "visitation" as long as those terms are defined in the document. A traditional custody order uses the standard legal/physical custody labels instead. A family gets one or the other, not both, for the same case.

Can we choose a parenting plan instead of a custody order, or does the court decide?

Parents can request it. Under § 518.1705, if both parents ask for a parenting plan, the court must create one in lieu of a traditional custody order, unless the court makes detailed findings that the proposed plan isn't in the child's best interest. If parents don't both agree, the court may still create a parenting plan on its own initiative, except the court must not do so where it finds a parent has committed domestic abuse against a parent or child involved in the case. If neither a joint request nor a court-initiated plan happens, the case proceeds as a traditional custody order instead.

What does a Minnesota parenting plan legally have to include?

Three things, at minimum, under § 518.1705: a schedule of the time each parent spends with the child, a designation of decision-making responsibilities regarding the child (education, health care, and other significant decisions), and a method of dispute resolution for disagreements that come up later. Parents can add other provisions they agree on beyond those three required elements.

If we have a parenting plan, does that mean domestic abuse cases can use one too?

No. Where the court finds a parent has committed domestic abuse against a parent or child who is a party to or the subject of the case, the court must not create a parenting plan on its own initiative. A traditional custody order, with its explicit legal and physical custody findings, applies in that situation instead.

Does a parenting plan still need to cover holidays and the regular schedule in detail?

Yes. The statute's schedule requirement is a floor, not a template, so it's on the parents (or the court) to spell out the regular week-to-week schedule, holidays, and school breaks with the same level of detail a strong plan would have under a traditional custody order. See how to build a holiday custody schedule for how most families structure that piece.

Can we switch from a traditional custody order to a parenting plan later, or vice versa?

A parenting plan is generally requested at the time custody is being established. Changing the underlying structure later, from a traditional order to a plan or back, would typically require a motion to modify, evaluated under Minnesota's usual standard for modifying custody, so this is worth raising directly with the court or an attorney rather than assuming it happens automatically.

Minnesota, United States

Minnesota Parenting Plans: What Parents Need to Know

How Minnesota's optional parenting plan under Minn. Stat. § 518.1705 works as an alternative to a traditional custody order, what it must cover, and how to request one.

Legal sources reviewed: August 11, 2026

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In short: Minnesota gives parents a choice most states don't: a traditional custody order using the standard legal-custody/physical-custody labels, or a parenting plan under Minn. Stat. § 518.1705, which allocates a parenting time schedule and decision-making responsibility directly, without necessarily using the words "custody" or "visitation" at all. If both parents request a parenting plan, the court must create one in place of a custody order unless it isn't in the child's best interest. Either way, the plan (or order) needs to cover the schedule, decision-making, and dispute resolution before it's workable day to day.

This is an educational overview written for parents, not lawyers. It isn't legal advice. For anything specific to your case, talk to a licensed Minnesota family law attorney or use a Minnesota Judicial Branch Self-Help Center.

What a Minnesota parenting plan needs to cover

Under § 518.1705, a parenting plan must include, at minimum:

A schedule of the time each parent spends with the child, the regular week-to-week arrangement, the same underlying question a custody schedule pattern like 2-2-3 or week on/week off answers.
A designation of decision-making responsibilities, who decides on education, health care, and other significant matters, and whether that's shared or held by one parent.
A method of dispute resolution, a defined process for handling disagreements that come up after the plan is in place, rather than leaving parents to figure that out later.

Beyond those three required pieces, parents can add whatever other provisions they mutually agree on, holidays, school breaks, transportation, communication expectations, and Minnesota courts generally expect those to be spelled out too, since the statute sets a floor, not a full template.

Minnesota's distinctive choice: parenting plan vs. custody order

Most states only offer one structure: a court order that labels each parent's legal and physical custody as sole or joint. Minnesota adds a second option. Under § 518.1705:

If both parents request a parenting plan, the court must create one in lieu of a traditional custody order, unless the court makes detailed findings that the proposed plan isn't in the child's best interest.
If parents don't jointly request one, the court may still create a parenting plan on its own initiative, but it must not do so where it finds a parent has committed domestic abuse against a parent or child who is a party to, or the subject of, the case. Traditional custody findings apply in that situation instead.
A parenting plan can substitute its own terms for "custody" and "visitation," as long as those substitute terms are clearly defined within the document, which is meant to reduce the adversarial framing some parents find in the traditional labels.
If neither path happens, the case proceeds under Minnesota's traditional custody framework, legal and physical custody decided under § 518.17's best-interest factors, with parenting time set separately.

A parenting plan isn't a lesser or informal version of a custody order. It carries the same legal weight; it's simply a different way of writing down who has responsibility for what and when.

How a parenting plan relates to the underlying case

Whichever structure a family uses, the custody determination and the parenting plan (or the custody order and its parenting time schedule) are decided together as part of the same case. Choosing a parenting plan changes the vocabulary and the format of the final document, not the underlying legal process, mediation, best-interest review, and, if necessary, a hearing before a judge, all still apply.

Reaching an agreed plan

Because a joint request from both parents is what triggers the court's obligation to use a parenting plan, reaching agreement matters more here than in states without this option. Mediation is the typical path to that agreement, and an agreed parenting plan is then submitted to the court for approval. If parents can't agree on a plan (or on using one at all), the case proceeds as a standard contested custody matter, with the court deciding based on the best interests of the child.

Building the actual schedule

Once the required elements are settled, an OnePage parenting plan generator or custody schedule generator can help draft the specific written schedule and decision-making terms to bring into mediation or attach to a proposed order, and a general parenting plan guide covers what goes into a strong plan regardless of jurisdiction.

Official Minnesota resources

FAQ

Questions, answered

This information is provided for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. Family law varies by individual circumstances and may change over time. Consult a qualified attorney or appropriate official resource for advice about your situation.