Connecting Nests

Montana · 4-3

4-3 in Montana

The child is with one parent four nights a week and the other three, on the same days every week. In Montana this is written into a Parenting Plan, where time with a child is called parenting time.

Build this plan for Montana — free

Template for educational use — not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state. Laws change; confirm current requirements with a licensed attorney in Montana.

The rotation

A = one parent, B = the other. Each cell is one overnight. This rotation divides regular school-year overnights 57/43 — about 209 and 156 nights a year.
WeekMonTueWedThuFriSatSun
1 AAAABBB

What Montana expects

Montana abolished custody terminology entirely — the statute speaks only of parenting plans and requires a final plan to address residential schedule, decision-making, and dispute resolution.

Governing law: Mont. Code Ann. § 40-4-234.

The honest trade-off

The most predictable schedule on this list — every week is identical, so there is no odd/even week to track and no calendar needed after the first month. It's also the natural on-ramp to 50/50: shifting a single night makes it 3-4-4-3.

Other schedules in Montana