Maryland Parenting Plan

Maryland provides an official parenting plan tool and expects parents to file either an agreed plan or a joint statement identifying what they still disagree about.

Document: Parenting plan
Court: Circuit Court
Decision-making called: Legal custody
Parenting time called: Physical custody

Build your Maryland residential schedule

Choose a pattern and get the exact overnight counts your parenting plan needs to state.

Schedule pattern

50/50

Each parent keeps the same two weekdays every week and the weekends alternate, producing a repeating 2-2-5-5 night pattern.

January 2026

Parent A
Parent B

Tap any night to switch parents.

A parenting plan is the written document that tells the Circuit Court, and, afterwards, both households, where your children are on each night of the year and who decides what. Once the court signs it, it is an order rather than an agreement.

Maryland uses the term physical custody for the time the children spend with each parent, and legal custody for the authority to make major decisions. Drafting in the state's own vocabulary avoids questions at filing and makes the plan easier for the court to read.

What a Maryland plan needs to cover

Residential schedule

Which parent the children are with on every night of the year, including how the regular rotation works and when it starts.

Holidays and school breaks

How Thanksgiving, the winter holidays, spring break, summer and each child's birthday are divided, and how the rotation alternates between years.

Exchanges and transportation

Where exchanges happen, at what time, who does the driving, and what happens when someone is running late.

Decision-making

Who decides on education, medical care, religion and activities: jointly, or with one parent having the final say in specific areas.

Communication

How the parents contact each other, how each parent contacts the children during the other's time, and what counts as an emergency.

Changes and disputes

How the parenting plan gets changed later, notice periods for relocation, and what the parents will try before returning to court.

Filing in Maryland

Custody and physical custody matters in Maryland are heard in the Circuit Court. Forms, filing fees, mediation requirements and local rules differ between counties, and they change, so confirm the current requirements with the court where you are filing before you prepare anything final.

The Maryland judiciary publishes its current forms and local rules at mdcourts.gov. CustodyPlan is not affiliated with any court.

Choosing a schedule that works in Maryland

The schedule is the part of the plan you will actually live with, and the part every other section depends on. Start from your children's ages and the distance between the two homes, then pick the pattern that fits both.

Maryland questions

Does Maryland require a parenting plan?

Maryland's rules direct parents in custody cases to file a parenting plan where they agree, or a joint statement setting out the points of disagreement where they do not. Check the current Maryland Courts forms before filing.

What is the Maryland parenting plan tool?

The Maryland Judiciary publishes its own parenting plan instructions and forms. Building your schedule and overnight counts first makes filling that paperwork out considerably faster.

What is the difference between legal and physical custody in Maryland?

Legal custody is the authority to make major decisions about education, health care and religion. Physical custody is where the children live and the schedule of time with each parent. They are decided separately.

What is a Maryland parenting plan called on the court forms?

Maryland refers to it as a parenting plan, filed in the Circuit Court. The state uses "legal custody" for decision-making authority and "physical custody" for the time each parent spends with the children. Check the current forms published by the Maryland judiciary before filing, as forms and local rules change.

How many overnights do I need for a Maryland plan?

Whatever your schedule actually produces, and the plan should state it precisely. In most states the overnight count feeds into the child-support formula and into how the arrangement is classified, though a few states, Texas among them, set guideline support from income alone. The calculator on this page gives you the exact annual figure for the schedule you choose.

Can I write my own parenting plan in Maryland?

Parents routinely prepare and file their own agreed plans. Where Maryland publishes a mandatory or preferred form, work the schedule and figures out first and then transfer them onto that form. Having an attorney review the plan before you sign is advisable, particularly if the two of you disagree on anything substantive.

CustodyPlan is a document-preparation tool, not a law firm. We do not provide legal advice, and using CustodyPlan does not create an attorney-client relationship. We are not affiliated with any court. Have your completed plan reviewed by an attorney or your local court before filing.