Parenting Plans

What is a Parenting Plan?

A Parenting Plan is a document that you must submit to the court before any orders are made regarding the care and control of your child. A Parenting Plan will eventually become a part of the court’s order in the divorce or parental rights and responsibilities case. Ideally, the two parents work together to create a plan that they agree upon. If the two parents cannot agree, then each drafts their own proposed plan, and the court either approves one, or crafts its own. If there is a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) in your case, then s/he will also make a recommendation.

New Hampshire Court Rule of the Circuit Court Family Division 2.18 requires all plans include 9 sections (lettered A through I). All issues pertaining to the children should be included in one of these 9. Parties may draft their own parenting plans, in accordance with this rule, or they may submit the parenting plan form available at the court or on the court’s website.

The parenting plan is intended to further the State of New Hampshire’s intention to foster positive family relationships; to encourage parents to work cooperatively for the benefit of their children; and to keep both parents actively involved in their child’s life – recognizing that a positive relationship between children and both parents is best for children. It is also the expectation of the State and the courts, that parents will always make decisions that are in the best interests of the child, even when the parent’s interests conflict with those of the child.

These instructions are designed to lead you through the process of completing the form as found on the Court’s website, PDF of Parenting Plan form.

Completing the Form

1. Select the box that accurately explains how this plan was created. If you and the other parent were able to reach an agreement, you may select “Agreed upon.” If you are unable to come to an agreement, you may select “proposed by” and write in your name.
2. Select the box that explains the plan. Is it to be:
   • part of a Temporary Order,
   • a Final or Permanent Order,
   • intended to replace an existing order.
3. List the name(s) and date(s) of birth of the child(ren) to whom this plan applies.
4. Decision-making Responsibility. Decision-making responsibility refers to your obligation to make decisions about your child’s education, religion, medical care, activities, etc. You will need to decide whether you and the other parent can work together on these issues. If yes, then you may request “Joint Decision Making.” However, if you believe that you and the other parent cannot work together, or that the other parent cannot make decisions that are best for the child for some specific reason, then you will need to request “Sole Decision Making.”
5. Residential Responsibilities. In this section, the parties will agree, or will each propose, a schedule of where the child will live, and when. In addition to a regular, weekly schedule, you should also provide for holidays, school vacations, and three-day weekend schedules. This is also where you would request supervised contact between the child and the other parent if you believe it is necessary. As a rule, courts will only order one parent’s contact to be supervised if there are clear, specific reasons to believe that the child would not be safe with that parent unsupervised. In most cases supervised contact is expected to be temporary, with some schedule of visits which includes increasing time, and ultimately eliminated supervision. Some reasons that the court might consider requiring supervision:
   • a history of domestic violence,
   • a history of abuse, neglect, or other inappropriate parenting,
   • a risk of the child being removed from the State.
6. Legal Residence of the Child for School Attendance. If the child spends roughly equal time with both parents, it is important to specify the child’s legal residence for school purposes. In the event either parent moves this would be very important to resolve disputes about what should happen to the child’s home after the move.
7. Transportation and exchange of the Child(ren). In this section, you must specify the allocation of responsibility for transporting the children for the time they spend with each parent, as well as the costs (if there are any). This is also a good place to specify a neutral exchange location if necessary.
8. Information Sharing and Access, Including Telephone and Electronic Access. This section provides for what types of information each parent is entitled to access and what methods of communication parents may use to communicate with their child(ren) when it is not their parenting time.
9. Relocation of a Residence of a Child. This section sets forth the statutory requirements that parents must comply with prior to relocating with their child(ren) and allows for the parties to include any requirements over and above those required by statute.
10. Procedure for Review and Adjustment of Parenting Plan. As the child(ren) age(s), the parenting plan may become unworkable. This section allows for the parents to come to an agreement on updating the parenting plan prior to seeking intervention from the court.
11. Methods for Resolving Disputes. As with changes, disputes are an unpleasant reality for many families. This section provides you the opportunity to think through how those disputes should be resolved before you are in the middle of the dispute and prior to bringing the dispute to the court.
12. Other. Every family has unique issues that are important to them. The final section provides a place for you to address those specific issues that are not included elsewhere in the plan, but that are important to you, the other parent, or the child.

Submitting the Plan to the Court

Before submitting the plan to the court, sign it and have your signature witnessed. If you and the other parent are submitting an agreed upon plan, then you both need to sign it.

If there is a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) working on your case you should make sure that the GAL gets a copy, and if you have reached an agreement, you should request the GAL’s signature. If you and the other parent agree, and the GAL does not, you should submit the plan to the court and let the judge decide whether to approve your plan.