Is a parenting plan the same thing as the custody and placement order?

No. The order is the court's ruling on legal custody (decision-making authority) and physical placement (the actual schedule). The proposed parenting plan is each parent's written proposal for those issues, filed under Wis. Stat. § 767.41(1m) when custody or placement is contested. If parents agree, an agreed plan is typically submitted for the judge to adopt as the order.

Do I have to file a parenting plan in Wisconsin?

Only if legal custody or physical placement is contested and the court hasn't waived the requirement. Unless the court orders otherwise, a parent seeking custody or placement in that situation must file a written proposed parenting plan within 60 days after the court waives the mediation requirement under § 767.405(8)(b), or after the mediator notifies the court under § 767.405(12)(b) that no agreement was reached.

What happens if I don't file a proposed parenting plan when required?

You risk losing the right to contest the other parent's proposed plan. The judge can adopt the plan that was filed unless you can show mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect for not filing your own.

What form does Wisconsin use for a proposed parenting plan?

Form FA-4147V, Proposed Parenting Plan, referencing Wis. Stat. § 767.41(1m). It's a statewide pro se form: circuit courts aren't allowed to require a different form, but using it isn't mandatory if you have counsel drafting an equivalent proposal. It's also available in Spanish.

Does a parenting plan have to cover holidays specifically?

It's strongly recommended. A plan or proposal that only addresses the regular placement schedule leaves holidays, school breaks, and special occasions unaddressed, which is a common source of later disputes. See how to build a holiday custody schedule for how most families structure this piece.

Can we skip mediation and go straight to filing parenting plans?

Generally no. Wisconsin law requires custody and placement disputes to be referred to mediation, commonly through a county's Family Court Counseling Services, before a proposed parenting plan filing is triggered. The parenting plan filing requirement is tied to mediation being waived by the court or ending without an agreement.

Wisconsin, United States

Wisconsin Parenting Plans: What Parents Need to Know

What a Wisconsin parenting plan needs to cover, when Wisconsin law requires you to file one (Form FA-4147V), and how it differs from the legal custody and physical placement order itself.

Legal sources reviewed: August 11, 2026

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In short: In Wisconsin, a proposed parenting plan is each parent's written proposal, on Form FA-4147V, for how legal custody and physical placement should work, required under Wis. Stat. § 767.41(1m) when those issues are contested and mediation hasn't resolved them. It's different from the legal custody and physical placement order, which is the court's final ruling, often incorporating an agreed plan or resolving the parents' competing proposals. Whether it's filed as a court proposal or worked out by agreement, the plan is what turns the legal ruling into a workable day-to-day schedule.

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 Wisconsin family law attorney or use the Wisconsin Court System Self-Help Law Center.

What a Wisconsin parenting plan needs to cover

Under Wis. Stat. § 767.41(1m), a proposed parenting plan must address:

What legal custody or physical placement the parent is seeking, including whether joint or sole legal custody is proposed.
The parent's current residence and where they intend to live during the next two years.
The parent's employer and work hours, since that affects the realistic schedule.
A proposed regular placement schedule: which days and nights the child spends with each parent, the underlying question a custody schedule pattern like 2-2-3 or week on/week off answers.
Holidays, school breaks, and special occasions, since the regular schedule doesn't automatically say who has a given holiday. See how to build a holiday custody schedule.
Anticipated variable costs for the child and how they'd be shared.
How day-to-day and major decisions get made, and how the parents will communicate about the child.

Form FA-4147V provides structured sections for each of these rather than leaving parents to describe an arrangement in free text, and allows attaching supplemental pages for more detail without altering the form itself.

The filing requirement in contested cases

If legal custody or physical placement is contested in a Wisconsin family case (divorce, legal separation, or paternity action), the court generally refers the dispute to mediation first, commonly through a county's Family Court Counseling Services. If the court waives that mediation requirement under § 767.405(8)(b), or the mediator notifies the court under § 767.405(12)(b) that no agreement was reached, each parent seeking custody or placement must then file a written proposed parenting plan within 60 days, unless the court orders otherwise.

The stakes for filing on time are real: a parent who doesn't file a proposed plan can lose the right to contest the plan the other parent did file, and the judge can adopt that plan unless the non-filing parent shows mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.

Using Form FA-4147V itself isn't mandatory (it's a pro se form), but circuit courts across the state are required to accept and distribute it, and it's commonly what self-represented parents use to meet the filing requirement.

How a parenting plan relates to the legal custody / placement order

The legal custody and physical placement order is the court's ruling under Wis. Stat. § 767.41, who has decision-making authority and what the actual schedule is. The proposed parenting plan is the vehicle parents use to put their positions on those questions in front of the court, or, if they agree, the basis for a proposed order the judge can adopt directly. An order can exist without every operational detail spelled out, but a detailed plan reduces how much gets left to informal agreement or renegotiated later.

Reaching an agreed plan

If parents can agree, working it out through mediation, often available through a county's Family Court Counseling Services, avoids the formal filing process and lets the parents submit an agreed plan as a proposed order. Wisconsin law directs custody and placement disputes to mediation, and many counties offer an initial mediation session at no cost. If parents can't agree, the contested-plan filing process above applies, and the court decides based on the best-interest factors after mediation and, if necessary, a hearing.

Building the actual schedule

Once the categories above are settled, an OnePage parenting plan generator or custody schedule generator can help draft the specific written schedule to bring into mediation or attach to Form FA-4147V, and a general parenting plan guide covers what goes into a strong plan regardless of jurisdiction.

Official Wisconsin 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.