Pennsylvania Parenting Plan
A Pennsylvania parenting plan sets out legal custody, physical custody, and the schedule two parents ask the court to approve under the best interest of the child standard. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
A parenting plan is a written arrangement that spells out legal custody, physical custody, and the time a child spends with each parent, used by parents who are divorcing, parents who were never married, and parents modifying an existing custody order. Pennsylvania describes custody with a detailed set of terms. Legal custody, the authority to make major decisions about a child's education, health care, and religious upbringing, can be shared or sole. Physical custody, the time the child is in each parent's physical care, can be shared, primary, partial, sole, or supervised. A Pennsylvania court may award any of these forms of custody if it is in the best interest of the child, after considering the sixteen custody factors listed in 23 Pa.C.S. Section 5328 (23 Pa.C.S. Section 5323(a)). Between the parents there is no presumption that custody should be awarded to a particular parent (23 Pa.C.S. Section 5327(a)). Pennsylvania does not require a separate, standalone parenting plan by statute; custody is set by a court order, and the court must state the reasons for its decision. Writing a clear parenting plan is still valuable in Pennsylvania because it shows the court the exact legal-custody, physical-custody, and schedule arrangement the parents are asking it to adopt. DocDraft builds your Pennsylvania parenting plan from your family's schedule, with attorney review available before you file it with the court.
Key Things to Know
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A parenting plan is a written document setting out legal custody, physical custody, and the schedule for a family's children, whether the parents are divorcing, were never married, or are modifying an order.
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In Pennsylvania legal custody, the authority to make major decisions about a child's education, health care, and religious upbringing, can be shared or sole (23 Pa.C.S. Section 5322).
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In Pennsylvania physical custody, the time the child is in each parent's physical care, can be shared, primary, partial, sole, or supervised (23 Pa.C.S. Section 5323).
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A Pennsylvania court may award any of these forms of custody if it is in the best interest of the child, after weighing the sixteen custody factors in 23 Pa.C.S. Section 5328.
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Between the parents there is no presumption in Pennsylvania that custody should be awarded to a particular parent (23 Pa.C.S. Section 5327(a)).
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Pennsylvania does not require a separate, standalone parenting plan by statute; custody is set by a court order, and the court must state the reasons for its decision (23 Pa.C.S. Section 5323).
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A clear written plan still helps in Pennsylvania because it shows the court the legal-custody, physical-custody, and schedule arrangement the parents want it to adopt, and any parenting-class requirement is set by the county court.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Parenting Plan in Pennsylvania, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Parenting Plan guide walks through them.
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Pennsylvania Requirements for Parenting Plan
Legal Custody: Shared or Sole
In Pennsylvania legal custody is the authority to make major decisions about a child's education, health care, and religious upbringing, and it can be shared legal custody or sole legal custody (23 Pa.C.S. Section 5322). Your parenting plan should state which form applies and how the parents will make those decisions.
Physical Custody: Five Forms
In Pennsylvania physical custody is the time the child is in each parent's physical care, and a court may award shared, primary, partial, sole, or supervised physical custody (23 Pa.C.S. Section 5323(a)). Your plan should identify the form of physical custody and set out the schedule that carries it out.
Best Interest and the Sixteen Factors
A Pennsylvania court may award a form of custody only if it is in the best interest of the child, after considering the sixteen custody factors in 23 Pa.C.S. Section 5328. The court must state the reasons for its decision on the record or in a written opinion or order (23 Pa.C.S. Section 5323(d)).
No Presumption Between Parents
In any action regarding custody between the parents, Pennsylvania applies no presumption that custody should be awarded to a particular parent (23 Pa.C.S. Section 5327(a)). Neither the mother nor the father starts with an advantage; the court decides case by case under the best interest standard.
Custody Set by Court Order
Pennsylvania does not require a separate, standalone parenting plan by statute. Custody is set by a court order that awards a form of legal and physical custody under 23 Pa.C.S. Section 5323. A clear written plan still shows the court the arrangement the parents are asking it to adopt.
Schedule and Decision-Making
Your Pennsylvania plan should describe how legal-custody decisions are made and set out the physical-custody schedule: the regular weekday and weekend routine, holidays, school breaks, and summer, plus exchanges and transportation. Spelling this out reduces conflict and shows the court exactly what arrangement to adopt.
Relocation Notice
A Pennsylvania custody order must include notice of a party's obligations under the relocation rules (23 Pa.C.S. Section 5323(c)). Your parenting plan should address relocation so that a parent who intends to move gives the other parent written notice before any planned move and the court can review the schedule if needed.
Parenting Class Set by County
Many Pennsylvania counties require parents in a contested custody case to attend a parent-education seminar, but the requirement is set by the local rules of the county Court of Common Pleas, not by a single statewide class. Check the rules of the Pennsylvania county where your case is filed.