New Jersey Parenting Plan

New Jersey requires each party in a contested custody case to file a custody and parenting time plan, and distinguishes the parent of primary residence from the parent of alternate residence.

Document: Custody and parenting time/visitation plan
Court: Superior Court, Chancery Division – Family Part
Decision-making called: Legal custody
Parenting time called: Parenting time

Build your New Jersey residential schedule

Choose a pattern and get the exact overnight counts your custody and parenting time/visitation 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 custody and parenting time/visitation plan is the written document that tells the Superior Court, Chancery Division – Family Part, 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.

New Jersey uses the term parenting time 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey

Custody and parenting time matters in New Jersey are heard in the Superior Court, Chancery Division – Family Part. 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 New Jersey judiciary publishes its current forms and local rules at njcourts.gov. CustodyPlan is not affiliated with any court.

Choosing a schedule that works in New Jersey

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.

New Jersey questions

What is a parent of primary residence in New Jersey?

It is the parent with whom the children live for more than half the overnights in a year. If the overnights are exactly equal, the guidelines treat the parent the children live with while attending school as the parent of primary residence. The other parent is the parent of alternate residence, and the designation affects several downstream calculations.

Does New Jersey require a custody plan?

In a contested custody case each party is required to file a custody and parenting time plan setting out their proposed arrangement.

What is a New Jersey custody and parenting time/visitation plan called on the court forms?

New Jersey refers to it as a custody and parenting time/visitation plan, filed in the Superior Court, Chancery Division – Family Part. The state uses "legal custody" for decision-making authority and "parenting time" for the time each parent spends with the children. Check the current forms published by the New Jersey judiciary before filing, as forms and local rules change.

How many overnights do I need for a New Jersey 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 custody and parenting time/visitation plan in New Jersey?

Parents routinely prepare and file their own agreed plans. Where New Jersey 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.