Create your ideal parenting plan with Custody X Change.

Free 30-Day Trial!

This Free 30-Day Trial:

1. Costs nothing & has no
obligation.

2. Can be used for 30 days.

3. Creates the reports,
but can't print or export.

4. Can be upgraded to a
paid version at anytime.

Your Software is Great

"I just want to let you know that your software is great and easy to use. My son’s mom and I don’t agree on much, but we do try to make adjustments to accommodate my son’s many activities. It is great to get my son’s baseball schedule in March, look at my Custody Xchange calendar, and know that what nights in April, May, and June we are going to switch. Thanks again."

Frank Ryan
Meriden, CT

The Judge Adopted my Plan

"It can be tailored made to fit your unique schedule with holidays and vacations, plus it breaks the time share down so you can come up with a true shared parenting schedule. It helped me so much and I was pro se against a family law specialist, the judge adopted my plan that I came up with using custody exchange. Thank you so much it was invaluable."

Stacie Staples
Arroyo Grande, CA

I Recommend it to Other Family Law Practitioners

"I have used the Custody X Software in some complicated custody cases and have found it a very useful tool. Many people are very visual and the ability to lay out custody schedules years in advance has been helpful. I have found the software very easy to use and would highly recommend it to other family law practitioners."

Meredith W. Ditchen
Woodstock, GA
www.ditchenlaw.com

Minnesota Parenting Plan

Custody X Change can help you create a
parenting plan in Minnesota.

How to Create Your Parenting Plan in Minnesota (MN)

Your parenting plan is the most important document in your child custody situation. The parenting plan outlines all of the information about how you and the child's other parent will continue to care for the child after a divorce or separation. It is vital that parents take the time to create a detailed, well-thought out plan that centers around the best interests of their children. Here are some things to consider for parents making a parenting plan in Minnesota.

What to Include in a Parenting Plan

Your parenting plan should include information about how parents will divide parental responsibility and share time with the children.

Legal custody refers to the parent's rights to make decisions for and about their child. This includes decisions about education, child care, religion, medical and dental care, etc. When the children are older it includes decisions about driving, working part time, extra-curricular activities, school functions, etc.
In sole legal custody, one parent has the right to make decisions about the child.
In joint legal custody the parents share this responsibility. The parents can divide the decisions between them or they can consult each other about all of the issues.
Physical custody refers to how the parents share the time with the children. Parents need to figure out where their children will live during the week, on weekends, during holidays, vacation time, etc.
In sole physical custody, the child lives with one parent and has visitation with the other parent.
In a joint physical custody arrangement, the child spends substantial time living with both parents. The time doesn't have to be exactly split in half in joint physical custody.

So, Your Parenting Plan Needs to Have

The type of legal and physical custody the parents have chosen (parents may have joint legal custody without joint physical custody),
A custody and visitation schedule that shows when the child is with each parent,
A holiday and vacation schedule,
How the parents will make decisions for the child,
Provisions that the parents want to include about parenting, and
Any other information the parents want to include concerning the child custody arrangements.

Minnesota Parenting Plans

In Minnesota, the parents can make and get a parenting plan accepted by the courts or there will be a custody and parenting time order.
The only real difference between the two is that the custody and parenting time order only covers the custody and visitation schedule and decision making while the parenting plan offers a lot more flexibility.
Parents can choose to add extra provisions and stipulations in their parenting plan to help their custody situation go more smoothly.
In a Minnesota parenting plan, the parents should include the basic information about where the child will spend time and how the parents will divide decision making. They should also include any information that will help the parents raise the child.
Parents can include information about how they will resolve disputes, how the transportation will work when switching parenting time, who will pay for extra curricular events, etc.

How Custody X Change Can Help

Custody X Change is custody software that helps parents create a parenting plan. The software makes it easy to put in all of the necessary information so that your plan can be accepted by the court. With the software, you can:

Create your custody and visitation schedule by making a repeating cycle of custody, a holiday schedule, and adding in any vacation time and special events.
See the exact timeshare percentage that each parent has with the children when you set up your schedule.
Include information about how legal custody will be divided.
Add extra parenting provisions and stipulations into your plan.
Print professional documents of the entire parenting plan, including a written form of the custody and visitation schedule, a calendar of the custody and visitation schedule, the detailed time-share and overnight percentage report, and the list of provisions the parents have included.
Track actual visitation, keep a journal about visitation, and print a report that shows the difference between scheduled and actual visitation time.
Export all of the documents to Word, PDF, and Excel.
Sync the custody calendar to your Blackberry, iPhone, Palm/PDA, Outlook, Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar, Windows Live, etc.

Minnesota Parents Use Custody X Change To

Get a detailed parenting plan accepted by the courts instead of a custody and parenting time order.
Make the best custody and visitation schedule by looking at different options until you find the right one.
Add helpful provisions about decision making, resolving disputes, transportation for exchanges, finances, etc.
Prepare example parenting plans to show in mediation or when meeting with the other parent.
Present a plan in court using the documents from the program to show why the plan is the best one for the child.
Save money in legal fees by making your own plan.
Find out the right amount of child support using the timeshare percentage calculation.
Track what is going on with the schedule and find the out actual percentage of time each parent has with the children.
Keep a custody journal about visitation and other matters.
Modify the schedule using the documents from tracking.
Relax and enjoy your time with the children instead of stressing about the plan.

You can get a free thirty day trial of Custody X Change by entering your name and email at the top of the page. Join the others in Maryland who have found the way to make the best parenting plan.

The top twenty cities in Minnesota (by population, US Census Bureau, 2008) are: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Duluth, Bloomington, Plymouth, Brooklyn Park, St. Cloud, Eagan, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Eden Prairie, Burnsville, Woodbury, Blaine, Lakeville, Minnetonka, Apple Valley, Edina, St. Louis Park.

Additional state parenting plans you might want to consider:

Two related articles (not state-specific) to read: Parenting Plan and Parenting Plan Template.

Navigation: Child Custody » Minnesota » Minnesota Parenting Plan