Parenting Time (Visitation) and Parenting Plans

When parents are separated, the Court usually wants both parents to be involved with their children. Parenting time is the time that each parent spends with a child. It does not matter who has custody or what kind of custody. Parenting time used to be called “visitation.”

Divorce and custody cases are complicated and affect important legal rights. It is best to get legal advice from a lawyer.

Parents can agree to use a “Parenting Plan.” They work on writing a plan that states the time each parent spends with the child and how they are going to make decisions about the child. You can make a parenting plan even if you were never married or living together. There is more info on parenting plans below. 

The Court can limit parenting time for a parent to less than 25% if it is likely to harm the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health or safety, or their emotional growth and development. It can also limit parenting time if a parent breaks the court’s order on parenting time without a good reason.

The court can limit parenting by:

• Not allowing overnight visits.
• Ruling it must be supervised by the other parent, a supervised visitation center or a relative.
   

The Court can also put conditions on parenting time, like making the parent be sober for a certain period before and during parenting time. The Court can order drug or alcohol treatment.

If a parent who wants parenting time has been convicted of certain crimes like:

• murder, manslaughter
• assault
• kidnapping
• depriving someone else of custodial or parental rights
• soliciting, inducing or promoting prostitution involving a minor
• criminal sexual conduct
• incest
• malicious punishment of a child
• neglect
• terroristic threats
• domestic assault by strangulation
   

That parent has to prove that spending time with the child is in the child’s best interest. This rule applies only to certain degrees of some crimes and only in certain circumstances. Like if the victim of the crime was a household or family member or if the conviction happened in the past 5 years. If the Court finds there has been domestic abuse in the family, they are likely to decide against legal custody for that parent.

Parents can agree to change parenting time. For example, either parent can ask the other parent to make a change to a scheduled day and make it up another time. If the parents don’t agree, a parent can ask the Court to change parenting time if it is best for the child. The Court can look at any changes since the last order and see if a new order is needed for the child’s best interest.

In general, no. If there is a problem, that parent must get the parenting time order changed. A parent can’t deny parenting time if the other parent isn’t paying child support. The Court can change a parenting time order if there is a danger to the custodial parent or the child, or if the other parent has constantly broken the parenting time agreement. Before going to Court, you can’t deny parenting time unless you or the child is in immediate danger. 

• Let the other parent make up the missed parenting time.
• Find them in contempt of court which has fines up to $500.
• In very serious cases, use the unfair denials of parenting time as a factor in changing custody.
   

It is never unreasonable to deny parenting time to keep a child safe from immediate danger.

If your child is in immediate danger by having parenting time with the other parent, you can bring an emergency motion to the court. An emergency motion is called an Ex Parte motion and is reviewed by the court more quickly than a regular motion. But the court only grants an Ex Parte motion in a true emergency. 

If a parent has sole custody and wants to move out of state with the child, they have to get permission from the parent who has parenting time. This can sometimes be true for in state moves also. The permission has to be in writing. If they leave without permission, it is a crime, and they could lose custody. If the other parent does not agree to the move, the parents have to go to Court. 

The parent with sole custody has to show the Court that the move is in the child's best interests. The only time they don’t have to show this is if that parent was a victim of domestic violence by the other parent. The Court looks at several things, like parenting time agreements, the emotional needs of the child, and if the move is a plan to keep the other parent from seeing the child. Then the Court decides if the parent and child can move. 

If the other parent doesn’t have court set parenting time, the custodial parent can move any time. 

Yes, if they meet certain requirements. It can be complicated. See our fact sheet, Grandparents and Visitation. 

The Plan must have:

• A schedule of the time each parent spends with the child
   
• Who makes certain decisions about the child 
  
    AND
   
• A way to settle arguments 

The Plan may use terms other than “physical” and “legal custody.” But it must also clearly state if the parents have joint legal custody or joint physical custody or which parent has sole legal custody or sole physical custody. You can tell the court how you would like it to make the decision about moving a child’s place of residence from Minnesota. For example, you could tell the court to use the “best interests of the child” factors to make the decision. But only if:

• Both parents have a lawyer when the court approves the Plan OR
   
• The court order says both parents were fully informed, the Plan was voluntary, and the parents understand it.
   

The Plan can explain which expenses each parent pays for the child so long as it agrees with the Minnesota child support guidelines. 

You can be as detailed as you want in your Parenting Plan. For example, you can make specific communication plans or goals for parenting. Your plan can explain the amount of phone and email contact with the child or the child’s participation in activities such as sports and music. A parenting plan can often have more details than a typical parenting time schedule. 

A sample Parenting Plan can be found online at https://www.mncourts.gov/mncourtsgov/media/assets/documents/1/Parenting-Agreement-Worksheet.pdf

If one parent has committed domestic abuse against the other parent or a child

• the court can't make a Parenting Plan for you
   
• the court can't order the Parenting Plan to provide joint legal custody
  
  AND
   
• the Parenting Plan’s way to settle arguments can only be through the court

You can change the Parenting Plan if you and the other parent agree. But to enforce the change, you must have a court order. Sometimes you have to go to mediation before filing anything in court to change the plan. Check your Parenting Plan to see if it says you have to go to mediation before making any court filings.