What is a child custody agreement? A child custody agreement template is a document you can use to establish custody arrangements with your co-parent. It builds upon existing legal documents such as child support orders, and consists of sections on legal custody and decision making, general provisions, transportation and exchange, and residential custody and access rights.
THIS CUSTODY AGREEMENT (also known as this “Agreement”) is made and entered into by [Father.Name] (“the father”) and [Mother.Name] (“the mother”), on [date] in [city, state, country] .
Both the father and mother will be collectively referred to as the “Parties” in this Agreement.
THE PARTIES AGREE AS FOLLOWS:
THAT the Parties are the parents of the following minor children:
To make sure that the children can be properly identified, include all of your children’s names, including middle names and nicknames.
THAT the Parties wish to enter into this Custody Agreement in order to settle the care and custody of the children.
The [parent 1] will have exclusive and sole custody of the children and all final decision-making authority related to significant matters impacting the welfare of the children, including but not limited to matters of education (including extracurricular activities), religion, and medical care.
The non-custodial parent, [parent 2] , will, except in the event of an emergency, be given the opportunity to make significant decisions.
During any period of parenting, both parents will be expected to spend as much time as possible with the children. This means that the Parties will not hire child care services or babysitters for extended periods of time except when necessary.
Each parent agrees to avoid interfering with the other parent’s schedule unless the other parent consents.
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In addition to the clauses here, you can also include provisions about the child’s or children’s belongings, such as how each parent will provide clothing or school supplies for the child or children to make exchanges easier.
The Parties agree to exchange the child at [address] .
[If your children go to daycare, talk about which parent is responsible for transporting them to and from daycare.]
If the parents can’t agree on a mutually agreed exchange location and the exchange isn’t at the minor child’s school, the [parent 1 or parent 2] or an adult representative appointed by them, [Representative.FirstName] [Representative.LastName] , will pick up and drop off the children in front of the other parent’s home.
Only insured or licensed drivers in vehicles with legal child-restraint devices will drive the children to ensure their safety.
The parents will not discuss conflicts pertaining to the children, their court case, or their own personal issues during the exchange times.
Residential custody and access rights
If you have existing legal documents such as child support orders as determined by the court, you need to refer to them when filling out this section. You can add clauses below to reference the content of these legal documents. Feel free to consult with your lawyer when writing this Agreement.
The [parent 1] will have residential custody of the children.
As such, the children will reside at the [parent 1] ’s residential address, and the [parent 1] will be entitled to child support, which will be paid by the [parent 2] .
You can remove the following paragraph if you don’t have a current child support order.
The Parties recognize that there is a current child support order determined by [court name and jurisdiction] under the case or docket number [number] . Under this order, [parent 2] must pay child support in the amount of [amount] . A copy of all child support orders by the aforementioned court is attached.
In the event of the [parent 1] ’s death or in the event that the [parent 1] becomes incapable of performing [pronoun] responsibilities as the custodial parent of the children, the [parent 2] will assume all such responsibilities as the custodial parent.
The [parent 2] will have access to the children as laid out in the schedule and terms below (or as otherwise agreed between the Parties).
The Parties agree that school breaks will not impact the custody schedule or exchanges and that the children will remain with the [parent 1] , who has residential custody of the children.
The [parent 2] will not have access to the children on any weekday and will only have access to the children on every other weekend (including three-day weekends per school schedules). The only exceptions are:
Change, add, or remove the following clauses as needed. You can also add clauses about other special occasions such as travel. For example: “Every year, the [parent 1] may go on vacation with the [children or child] for up to [number] days, for no more than [number] consecutive days at once.”
1. [Parent 2’s day, i.e. Mother’s Day or Father’s Day] . The [parent 2] will have access to the children on [Parent 2’s Day] from [time, i.e. certain years, or every other year, etc.] .
2. Children’s birthdays. If the [parent 2] does not have access to a child on the child’s birthday, the [parent 2] will have access to the child for up to [number] hours.
3. [Parent 2] ’s birthday. If the [parent 2] does not have access to the children on [pronoun] birthday, the [parent 2] will have access to the children for up to [number] hours.
4. Holidays (“odd” years). The [parent 2] will have access to the children on the following holidays in year [number] of this Agreement and all other odd-numbered years of this Agreement:
5. Holidays (“even” years). The [parent 2] will have access to the children on the following holidays in year [number] of this Agreement and all other even-numbered years of this Agreement:
6. Vacations. The [parent 2] will have up to [number] weeks of unrestricted access to the children during [list months] provided that the [parent 2] works in good faith with the [parent 1] and tries [pronoun] best to schedule vacations on dates convenient for the [parent 1] .
The [parent 1] will have access to the children at all times when the [parent 2] does not have access. Additionally, [parent 1] will have access to the children in the following scenarios:
See the attached Visitation Schedule for more information.
Attach an Excel, Word, or Google Doc document that shows what a yearly visitation schedule (including a holiday schedule) would look like.
By signing, the Parties declare this Agreement executed, delivered, and effective as of the date of the last party to sign this Agreement below.
The Parties agree that an electronic signature has the same full force and effect as an original signature.