Maryland Parenting Plans and Custody Agreements

A parenting plan (sometimes called a custody agreement) outlines how separated parents will raise their child. Parents can draft one individually (to propose to one another) or together. An attorney or mediator can help.

If parents reach a settlement, they hand in their joint parenting plan to the court, and — with a judge's approval — the plan is incorporated into the final order.

Parents who disagree with each other draft individual proposals and must also submit a joint statement (more below). The statement highlights their agreements and disagreements, covering largely the same topics as a parenting plan.

What to include in your parenting plan

Parents can choose any format for their plan, including Maryland's parenting plan template or the Custody X Change parenting plan template, which allows more detail and flexibility.

Your parenting plan must protect your child's best interests. It should include the names and addresses of both parents and all the children involved, and it should cover legal and physical custody.

Legal custody

Legal custody (also called parental responsibility or decision-making authority) sets forth who can make major decisions for a child.

You can give one parent this power (sole legal custody) or split it between both parents (joint legal custody). With the latter, you might name one parent the tiebreaker for certain decisions, meaning they ultimately get to make the decision if there's a disagreement.

Physical custody

Physical custody determines where your child lives, and parenting time determines when each parent sees the child. The arrangements are laid out in a written access or visitation schedule. You can attach a visual calendar for easier comprehension.

To cover all the bases, include a holiday schedule to specify who will have the kids during special occasions, and a school break schedule to cover extended periods when the child does not have classes.

Additional information to consider including

Parents are encouraged to include additional agreements to help them avoid stress and confusion later. Think of possible issues that could arise, and specify how you'll handle them.

Here are some common provisions to consider. You'll find other popular parenting plan provisions in the Custody X Change app.

Communication

Address how you'll communicate with the other parent. For instance, if you want a paper trail, choose texting, email or messaging via Custody X Change. You can stress in your plan that conversations between parents must stay civil.

Also set ground rules for communicating with the child. You might agree that parents will not disparage each other in front of the child or involve the child in disagreements. You can set rules for when and how one parent can contact the child during the other parent's custody time.

Schooling and extracurricular activities

Specify what school or type of school your child will attend. State which parent's address will be used to register the child in school.

Include a plan for extracurricular activities too: who may sign the kid up, who may attend, etc.

Transportation

State how transporting and exchanging the child will work. This includes which parent is responsible for pickups and drop-offs and whether out-of-state travel is allowed.

Child care

Detail who else can care for your child besides parents and whether parents should use each other as their first choice for a babysitter.

Dispute resolution

Outline a process for settling parenting disputes. You might choose an alternative dispute resolution method like collaborative law or name a mutual friend to serve as a go-between.

Expenses

Child support isn't covered in the parenting plan, but parents can detail how other expenses are handled, like gifts, trips and extracurriculars.

Restrictions

Parents should discuss activities their children can and cannot engage in. Are they allowed to access fireworks? What forms of entertainment are acceptable? Do these change as they age?

New partners

Specify how you'll introduce new partners to your child. Consider when it's appropriate for your child to meet your partner and whether the other parent should meet them first.

When parents disagree: Joint statements

Parents who don't have an agreed-upon parenting plan must provide the court with a joint statement. This document helps the court make a final custody order.

It's due 10 days before the pre-trial settlement conference (or 20 days before trial if the court has not scheduled a conference).

First, each parent outlines their ideal arrangement on a Joint Statement of the Parties form. They exchange these 30 days before the due date by serving the other parent.

The plaintiff must combine the information into one joint statement, sign it and serve it to the defendant at least 15 days before it's due to the court.

Then, the defendant must sign or attach a written explanation of why they did not sign. They're responsible for submitting the joint statement to the court on time.

Making sure you don't overlook anything

While the state's parenting plan template covers a lot of important information, it doesn't know your family's circumstances. To ensure your child's needs are fully addressed, make sure to add custom provisions or build your own plan.

Custody X Change enables you to do both. In the app, you can choose from over 140 popular provisions, as well as enter rules unique to your family.

This creates a document you can attach to the Maryland template or submit on its own.

In the end, you'll be glad you made a thorough plan that will work for you and your child for years to come.

More guidance

For more guidance as you create your parenting plan, see these resources:

• Age guidelines
• Temporary parenting plans and schedules
• Modifying your parenting plan and schedule