Glossary
The words, in plain English. No one should need a law degree to read their own parenting plan.
- Legal custody — The authority to make major decisions about a child — education, non-emergency health care, religion, and...
- Physical custody — Where the child actually lives. Some states call this residential responsibility, physical placement, or...
- Parenting time — The time a child spends in each parent's care. The modern replacement for 'visitation', which many states...
- Parenting plan — The written agreement setting out the schedule, who decides what, how holidays work, how exchanges happen,...
- Overnight — One night a child sleeps in a parent's care. Overnights — not hours, not days — are the unit courts and...
- Right of first refusal — A clause requiring a parent who can't personally care for the child for some stretch of time to offer that...
- Sole custody — One parent holds the decision-making authority, the physical care, or both. Less common than it once was —...
- Joint custody — Both parents share decision-making, physical care, or both. Joint legal custody with an uneven physical...
- Mediation — A neutral third party helps parents reach agreement without a judge deciding for them. Many states require...
- Relocation — A parent moving far enough that the schedule can't survive the move. Most states impose their own notice...
- Birdnesting (nesting) — The children stay in one home and the parents rotate in and out. Gentlest on the kids, hardest on the...
- Exchange — The handoff of a child between parents. Vague exchange terms — no fixed place, no stated time, no lateness...