Child Custody Agreement
State-specific parenting plans, visitation schedules, and co-parenting agreements for divorcing, separated, and never-married parents — formatted for all 50 states with court-ready language, the best-interests standard, and built-in handling for parentage, relocation, and shared decision-making.
- State-specific terminology built in (FL time-sharing · IL allocation of parental responsibilities · WA parenting plan · CA custody agreement)
- Court-approval, best-interests, and UCCJEA language included
- Download-ready PDF in 15 minutes
The 2026 Legal Form
Parenting Plan
Create a custody and visitation parenting plan covering schedules, holidays, and decision-making. State-specific for all…
- 8
- Legal Forms
- 50
- States Covered
- 15 min
- Average Completion
AVAILABLE FORMS
Featured Legal Forms
What's inside each form
Custody Schedule
Documents physical custody, visitation, holidays, school breaks, and exchange details in a clear parenting schedule.
Decision-Making Rules
Defines how parents handle education, health care, travel, communication, and other major decisions for the child.
Child-Focused Terms
Keeps practical child-care details, routines, and responsibilities documented so both parents know what to follow.
Did you know?
Did You Know?
A parenting plan is not automatically enforceable when both parents sign it — it becomes binding only when a judge approves it and enters it as a custody order, and the court applies the best interests of the child standard. State terminology varies in ways that matter: Florida calls it a time-sharing plan and requires one in every case with children; Illinois calls it an allocation of parental responsibilities and requires a proposed plan within 120 days; Washington requires a parenting plan on its official form; California uses custody agreement with relocation-notice standards. For unmarried parents, custody and support cannot be ordered until legal parentage is established through a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity or a court order — and an AOP establishes who the parent is, not the schedule. A written, state-formatted plan is the single most effective way to lock in terms before a dispute reaches a courtroom.
Why our legal forms
Why use our child custody forms
State-Specific Terminology & Filing Rules Built In
Every agreement uses your state's exact terms — time-sharing plan in Florida, allocation of parental responsibilities in Illinois, parenting plan in Washington, custody agreement in California — and flags mandatory plans, filing deadlines, relocation-notice rules, and UCCJEA jurisdiction.
8 Agreement Types Covered
From the core parenting plan and child travel consent to visitation addenda, modification agreements, child medical consent, relocation notices, Acknowledgment of Paternity, and grandparent visitation.
Court-Ready in 15 Minutes
Answer guided questions about your situation, state, children, and agreement terms, then download a professionally formatted PDF ready to sign, file, and submit for a judge to approve.
Explore more
More Family Law Categories
Child Travel Consent
1Create a notarized child travel consent letter for domestic and international trips with one parent, a non-parent companion, or solo.
Marital Settlement Agreement
1Comprehensive property, debt, support, and custody settlement documents for uncontested divorces, legal separations, and annulments.
Pet Custody Agreement
1State-aware custody, visitation, and co-ownership agreements for dogs, cats, and other companion animals.
Powers of Attorney
5Appoint someone you trust to act for you with general, limited, durable, medical, springing, or special power of attorney authority.
Featured — Parenting Plan
Florida Parenting Plan (Time-Sharing Plan)
Florida requires a parenting plan in every case involving children (Fla. Stat. § 61.13(2)(b)) and uses the terms time-sharing and parental responsibility instead of custody and visitation. A move of 50+ miles for 60+ days is a relocation requiring either an agreement or a petition, with the other parent having 20 days to object. Our Florida plan uses the right terminology, formats for time-sharing instead of visitation, and builds in the relocation rule — so you file a plan a Florida judge will recognize, not a generic custody agreement that gets kicked back for a re-format.
What people are saying
Trusted by thousands
Real co-parents who created custody agreements with us
"We agreed on everything but had no idea how to put it on paper. This gave us a clean plan our judge approved with no changes."
Dana R.
Co-parent, Florida
"I was never married to my son's dad, and every other template ignored that. This one walked me through paternity first — that alone was worth it."
Alicia M.
Unmarried parent, Illinois
"The schedule options actually explained which one suits younger kids. We picked 2-2-3 and it's working."
Marcus T.
Co-parent, Washington
Support
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about parenting plans and child custody agreements
Not on its own — it becomes enforceable when a judge approves it and enters it as a custody order, reviewed under the best interests of the child standard. A signed-but-unfiled plan is just a private agreement.
Yes, with one extra step: legal parentage must be established first through a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity or a court order. An AOP establishes who the parent is, not the schedule — you still file the plan to make custody and parenting time enforceable.
Legal custody is decision-making authority over education, healthcare, religion, and activities. Physical custody is where the child lives and the day-to-day schedule. They're set separately.
It depends on the kids' ages, your distance apart, and the level of conflict. Younger kids often do better with frequent contact. Older kids and teens may do better with fewer transitions. Distance or higher conflict often points to every-other-weekend with a neutral exchange location.
You can reference it in the plan, but you cannot waive it or set it below your state's guideline without the court's approval — child support belongs to the child and is calculated on your state's child-support worksheet.
Yes — by written agreement of both parents, or by asking the court, on a substantial change in circumstances and the child's best interests. The threshold keeps schedules stable, so build a plan you can actually keep now.
Most states require advance written notice before relocating with the child, and some require court permission if the other parent objects. Rules vary by state, and your plan includes a state-conditional relocation-notice clause.
Under the UCCJEA, the child's home state — where they have lived for the last 6 months — generally has jurisdiction over custody, and that state keeps jurisdiction over future changes.
No. This is for parents who agree on a plan. If custody is contested, or if there is any domestic violence or child-safety concern, you should work with a family-law attorney or mediator and seek appropriate protective resources.
All forms
Child Custody Agreement Legal Forms
ConsumerShield All Access - Annual
Annual all-access plan with unlimited legal-form generation while active and access to every paid guide.
Prefer monthly? $9.99/mo — choose at checkout.
- 82 included products
- 77 legal forms + 5 guides
- Unlimited legal-form generation while active
- Previously generated documents stay accessible
Everything included
- 82 included products
- 77 legal forms + 5 guides
- Unlimited legal-form generation while active
- Previously generated documents stay accessible
- Best value for ongoing access
Subscribe
$99.99/yrSave $19.89 vs monthly
Subscribe & save