IN PLAIN ENGLISH
How custody works in Minnesota
Minnesota splits custody into legal custody (major decisions) and physical custody (where your child lives day to day), and a parenting plan can describe them in its own words as long as it says clearly who has which. [MN-P6] If either parent asks, the judge starts from the presumption that joint legal custody is best, but there is no presumption for or against joint physical custody. [MN-P2] Joint physical custody does not require an exactly equal split of time. [MN-P2]
Without other evidence, the law presumes your child should get at least 25 percent of the parenting time with each parent. [MN-P1] Legal aid explains that this is usually counted by overnights in a two-week period, and that 25 percent is about every other weekend plus one day a week. [MN-P6] It sets a floor, not a schedule, and the judge still decides the actual days. [MN-P1, MN-P2]
Judges must weigh 12 best-interest factors and cannot prefer a parent because of gender. [MN-P2] The law also tells the judge to treat both parents as able to build nurturing relationships with their children unless there are substantial reasons to believe otherwise. [MN-P2]
If you were never married, the mother has sole custody until paternity is established or a court decides custody. [MN-P4] When parents cannot agree on custody or a schedule, the court must order both to take at least 8 hours of parent education, usually starting within 30 days of the first filing. [MN-P5]
Words you’ll see in your papers
- Legal custody
- The right to make major decisions for your child, like school and health care. Joint legal custody means you share those decisions. [MN-P2, MN-P6]
- Physical custody
- Where your child lives and who handles daily care. Joint physical custody does not require an exactly equal split of time. [MN-P2, MN-P6]
- Parenting time
- The time your child spends with each parent, no matter what kind of custody each parent has. [MN-P1, MN-P6]
- Parenting plan
- A written plan both parents make that sets the schedule, who makes which decisions, and how disagreements will be settled. [MN-P6]
- Recognition of Parentage (ROP)
- The form unmarried parents can sign to make the father a legal parent. After it is signed, the father can file a separate case to ask for custody or parenting time. [MN-P4]
- Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE)
- A confidential, voluntary process early in the case where trained evaluators hear both sides and tell you how a court might see the custody and parenting time issues, to help you settle. [MN-P8]
COMMON QUESTIONS
What parents in Minnesota ask first
Does Minnesota start from 50/50?
No. The law presumes each parent should get at least 25 percent of parenting time, unless other evidence shows otherwise. [MN-P1] Beyond that minimum, the judge decides based on your child's best interests. [MN-P2] Joint legal custody (sharing decisions) is presumed if either parent asks, but there is no presumption about joint physical custody. [MN-P2]
What does the judge look at?
The law lists 12 factors, including: your child's physical, emotional, cultural and spiritual needs; any special medical, mental health or educational needs; your child's reasonable preference; domestic abuse; any parent health or chemical issue that affects the child; each parent's history of caring for the child; each parent's willingness to provide ongoing care and follow through with parenting time; the effect of changes in home, school and community; the benefit of maximizing time with both parents; each parent's support for the child's relationship with the other parent; and the parents' ability to cooperate and keep the child out of conflict. [MN-P2] The judge may not consider a parent's conduct that does not affect that parent's relationship with the child. [MN-P2]
Is there a standard schedule?
No. The court's Child-Focused Parenting Time Guide offers sample schedules and age-by-age advice, but it says it does not replace the law, and parents must get a court order for any schedule to be legally enforceable. [MN-P3] If a parent asks and it is practical, the court order must spell out specific times for regular parenting time and holidays. [MN-P1]
Does my child get to choose?
No age gives a child the final say. The judge considers your child's reasonable preference if the judge finds your child has enough ability, age and maturity to express an independent, reliable preference. [MN-P2]
Can I move to another state with my child?
If the other parent has parenting time under the court order, the parent the child lives with cannot move the child's home to another state without the other parent's consent or a court order. [MN-P1] The judge looks at factors like the child's relationships, the child's age and needs, whether the other parent's relationship can be kept up, the child's preference, and the reasons for the move. [MN-P1] The parent who wants to move has to prove it is in the child's best interests, unless the court finds that parent was a victim of domestic abuse by the other parent, in which case the burden shifts to the parent opposing the move. [MN-P1]
Can the order be changed later?
Yes, but there are waiting periods. Unless both parents agree in writing, you cannot ask to change custody within one year after the divorce decree, or within two years after a prior request to change it was decided. [MN-P7] Those waiting periods do not apply if the other parent keeps willfully denying parenting time, or if your child's current home may endanger the child's physical or emotional health. [MN-P7] To change custody or the child's primary residence, the judge must find that circumstances have changed and a change is needed for your child's best interests. [MN-P7]
We were never married. What happens first?
Until paternity is established or a court decides custody, the mother has sole custody. [MN-P4] Parents can sign a Recognition of Parentage, and the father can then file a case to ask for custody or parenting time, which the court treats as a first-time custody decision under the same best-interest rules. [MN-P4]
What if I am not safe?
If domestic abuse has happened between the parents, the judge must presume that joint legal or joint physical custody is not in your child's best interests. [MN-P2] If parenting time is likely to endanger your child's health or safety, the judge must restrict it by time, place, length or supervision and can deny it entirely. [MN-P1] When domestic abuse is alleged, the court cannot require both parents to attend the same parent education sessions. [MN-P5]
Free, official places to start
- LawHelpMN: Parenting Time (Visitation) and Parenting Plans
A legal-aid fact sheet on how parenting time works, how the 25 percent minimum is counted and what a parenting plan must include.
- Minnesota Judicial Branch: Child Custody Tools and Resources
The court's links to the parenting time guide, the unmarried parents booklet, supervised parenting time standards and a family trial booklet.
- Child-Focused Parenting Time Guide (PDF)
The court's optional guide with age-by-age advice, sample schedules and a holiday planning grid.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT · MINNEAPOLIS
Hennepin County
Hennepin County District Court (Fourth Judicial District), Family Court
Hennepin County does not have its own parenting time schedule; the statewide 25 percent rule and best-interest factors apply. [MN-P1, MN-P2] What it offers is help settling the case and filing on your own. The Family Court works with Hennepin County Family Mediation and Evaluation to provide Social Early Neutral Evaluations (SENE), a confidential, voluntary process where evaluators hear both parents early in the case and give feedback on the custody and parenting time issues and how a court may rule, to help you reach an agreement. [MN-P9, MN-P8] The court's Self-Help Center on the A-20 level of the Government Center reviews forms one-on-one, offers brief advice at volunteer lawyer clinics, and takes appointments by Zoom. [MN-P10]
- Hennepin County Self-Help Center
In-person, phone, email and Zoom help for parents without a lawyer, including form review and legal advice clinics.
- Early Neutral Evaluation: Hennepin (Fourth District)
How Hennepin's Family Court uses Social Early Neutral Evaluation to help parents settle custody and parenting time disputes.
- Hennepin Family Court
The court's page for divorce, custody, support and paternity cases in downtown Minneapolis.
Other counties in Minnesota can have different local rules and forms. Check the court where your case is filed.
THE DETAILED GUIDE · WHAT KIND OF SCHEDULE THE LAW PROVIDES
Optional statewide model
Research overview
Optional statewide Child-Focused Parenting Time Guide with templates and A–G schedule examples; separate statutory rebuttable minimum-25% presumption is not a fixed calendar or equal-time presumption. [MN1–MN3]
Legal force and applicability
Optional planning model; not an automatic enforceable calendar. Specific agreement/order and scope control.
Authority and geographic scope
Statutes govern statewide. 2019 State Court Administrator guide explicitly says parents/judges need not follow its suggestions and it does not replace a court-ordered schedule. [MN1–MN3]
Custody and parenting-time presumptions
In the absence of other evidence, rebuttable presumption of at least 25% parenting time with each parent (§518.175 subd.1(g)); calculation may include meaningful nonovernight time, not merely nights. Joint legal custody is rebuttably presumed on either party’s request, subject to domestic-abuse exception. No presumption for/against joint physical custody except the abuse provision; joint physical custody need not mean equal time. [MN1,MN2]
Schedule & conditions
Read these topics together with your actual order. A model, form, or presumption does not automatically supply an enforceable calendar.
Regular school-year schedule
No statutory rotation. Optional guide A: fixed Mon–Wed and Wed–Fri blocks with alternating Fri–Mon weekends (2-2-5-5); B: fixed Mon/Tue and Wed/Thu with alternating weekends ending Sunday evening; C: alternating 2-2-3; D: alternate weeks; E: alternate Fri evening–Mon morning plus weekly overnight; F: alternate Fri–Sun evenings plus weekly overnight; G: alternate Fri–Sun weekends plus Wed–Fri after that parent’s weekend and Wed–Thu after the other’s weekend. These are discussion starters for suitable families, not defaults. [MN3 Appendix B pp.53–55]
Holidays and school breaks
No statutory odd/even allocation. On a party’s request and when practicable, an unrestricted/nonreserved parenting-time order must give specific regular and holiday/vacation/school-break times. The optional guide supplies blank holiday grids and individualized planning advice. [MN1 subd.1(e),MN3]
Summer and vacation time
No statewide summer quantity identified in the reviewed sources. Optional guide provides for keeping or altering the ordinary pattern and creating a separate summer schedule with vacation arrangements. [MN3 pp.29–31 and Appendix B]
Age and development
Child development and age affect best interests and meaningful nonovernight calculation. Optional guide covers birth–9 months, 9–18 months, 18–24 months, 2–3, 3–6, 6–10, 10–13, 13–15 and 15–18; Appendix B deliberately omits fixed infant/very-young-child examples and recommends short separations with individually considered overnights. [MN1–MN3]
Safety & exceptions
Likely endangerment of physical/mental/emotional health or safety, or impairment of emotional development, requires restriction and may warrant denial after hearing. Domestic abuse creates a rebuttable presumption against joint legal or physical custody. Protection orders and supervised/neutral-exchange needs must be considered. [MN1,MN2]