Nebraska Parenting Plan: What Courts Require (2026)

Why Nebraska requires a parenting plan

Under the Nebraska Parenting Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2920 et seq.), every divorce involving minor children must include a written parenting plan covering custody, parenting time, and decision-making.

The law's stated purpose is to ensure children have meaningful contact with both parents when safe and appropriate, to reduce conflict between parents, and to provide clear, enforceable expectations.

Once a Nebraska judge signs your decree, your parenting plan becomes a court order. Both parents are legally bound by it.

The three court-approved Nebraska parenting plan templates

Nebraska's Supreme Court publishes three official, fillable parenting plan forms. Pick the one that matches your custody arrangement: Form DC 6:5.37 is for joint legal AND joint physical custody; Form DC 6:5.38 is for joint legal AND sole physical custody; and Form DC 6:5.39 is for sole legal AND sole physical custody.

There is also a separate absent-parent version for use when one parent's whereabouts are unknown.

You can download blank PDFs from the Nebraska Judicial Branch self-help site, or DivorceQuik's $1,500 with-children packet generates the correct version for your situation based on a short questionnaire.

What "legal custody" vs. "physical custody" actually mean

This is where most parents get tripped up, because they are two different decisions. Legal custody is about decision-making: who decides on schooling, medical care and health insurance, and religious upbringing. Joint legal means both parents share the call; sole legal means one parent has final authority.

Physical custody is about where the child lives. Joint physical means the child splits time roughly equally between both parents' homes — Nebraska defines this as at least 142 days per year with each parent. Sole physical means the child primarily lives with one parent while the other has parenting time (formerly called "visitation").

You can mix these. Joint legal plus sole physical (Form DC 6:5.38) is very common: both parents make big decisions together, but the child lives mainly with one of them.

What Nebraska law requires in every parenting plan

Whether you use a template or draft custom language, your parenting plan must address all of the following: the legal-custody and physical-custody arrangement you've agreed to; encouragement for both parents to discuss major decisions about schooling, healthcare, and religion when safe and appropriate; how day-to-day decisions get made; a regular week-by-week parenting time schedule; and a holiday and summer schedule covering Christmas, Thanksgiving, spring break, summer vacation, and the child's birthday.

It must also cover where the child lives during each parent's time; communication rules for when each parent may call or text the child during the other parent's time; how transitions happen, including when, where, and how the child moves between homes; a mediation provision for changing the plan later; school attendance and academic-progress assurances; a safety plan with protective steps if the child is ever at risk of abuse, neglect, or harmful conflict; and an address-change notification requirement.

Miss any of these and the court will send the plan back for revision.

Optional sections worth including

These are not required, but they resolve a lot of post-divorce arguments before they start. Extracurricular activities — who signs the child up, who pays, and attendance expectations — are a common flashpoint, as are belongings like sports gear, musical instruments, and comfort items that travel with the child.

Other worthwhile additions include social-media rules (which accounts the child can have and monitoring expectations), new-partner introductions (a time-frame and notice before introducing a new significant other), and vacation travel (notice requirements, international travel, and passports).

A right-of-first-refusal clause is also popular: if a parent can't care for the child during their own time, does the other parent get the option first before a babysitter is called?

A workable parenting time schedule (starting point)

Most Nebraska courts approve any reasonable schedule the parents agree on. For 50/50 joint physical custody, common patterns include the 2-2-3 rotation (Monday/Tuesday with Parent A, Wednesday/Thursday with Parent B, and Friday through Sunday alternating each week), week-on/week-off (switching Sundays at 5 p.m., which works best for older kids), and 2-2-5-5 (two days with A, two with B, five with A, five with B — good for a school-age routine).

For a standard non-equal schedule where one parent has the majority, a typical arrangement gives the non-residential parent every other weekend (Friday 5 p.m. through Sunday 7 p.m.), one mid-week evening such as a Wednesday dinner, alternating holidays, and a two-week summer block.

Calculating child support with your parenting plan

Nebraska's child support formula is affected by your custody arrangement. Joint physical custody — at least 132 overnights with each parent — changes the calculation significantly, so the schedule you choose has real financial consequences.

Our free Nebraska child support calculator lets you model both scenarios before you commit. Whichever number you arrive at, document it on the Financial Affidavit for Child Support (Form DC 6:5.2) and reference it in your parenting plan.

What happens after the plan is filed

First, both parents sign the plan, and it is filed with the rest of your divorce packet. The judge then reviews it for completeness and the child's best interest.

Once the 60-day statutory period has elapsed and the court completes the final process, the judge may enter a decree that incorporates the parenting plan. From entry, the plan is a court order and violations can be enforced through contempt.

Changing a parenting plan later

Plans can be modified, but Nebraska law requires a material change in circumstances since the original plan, a showing that modification is in the child's best interest, usually mediation first, and a formal Complaint for Modification of Custody or Parenting Plan.

You can't just verbally agree to a change. If it isn't in writing and submitted to the court, the original plan is what's enforceable.

Disclaimer

DivorceQuik is a document-preparation service, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. The information above is for general educational purposes. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed Nebraska attorney.