Long-Distance Parenting Plans in Minnesota: Schedules and Transportation Costs

When one parent moves to Duluth and the other stays in the Twin Cities — or when parents end up in different states after a court-approved relocation — the standard every-other-weekend schedule stops working. Long-distance parenting plans require a fundamentally different structure, and Minnesota law gives courts specific authority to address the logistics.

How Long-Distance Changes the Schedule

A parenting plan that works when parents live 15 minutes apart falls apart at 150 miles. Weekly midweek overnights become impractical. The focus shifts from frequent short visits to longer, less frequent blocks of time.

Common long-distance schedule structures include:

• Extended school breaks. The distant parent gets the majority of summer vacation (4 to 8 weeks), winter break, and spring break. This concentrates parenting time into blocks that justify the travel
• Alternating holidays. Thanksgiving with one parent in even years, the other in odd years. Same for winter break halves and spring break
• Monthly weekend visits. When the distance is drivable (under 3 to 4 hours), one extended weekend per month can supplement the break-period schedule
• Virtual parenting time. Under § 518.175, courts can order specific schedules for video calls and phone contact during the school year to maintain the parent-child relationship between in-person visits

The key is that the distant parent's total annual parenting time should still meet Minnesota's rebuttable minimum of 25% — roughly 91 overnights per year. Long-distance plans achieve this through longer summer and break periods rather than weekly rotations.

Who Pays for Transportation

Minnesota courts have broad discretion to allocate transportation costs between parents. Under § 518.175, the court considers the financial circumstances of each parent, who initiated the move, and the overall parenting time arrangement.

Common allocation approaches include:

• Equal split. Each parent pays half of all transportation costs, regardless of who moved
• Moving parent pays. The parent who relocated bears the majority or entirety of travel costs, on the theory that they created the distance
• Income-proportional split. Transportation costs are divided based on each parent's percentage of the combined Parental Income for Child Support (PICS), the same ratio used for child support
• Meet-in-the-middle. Each parent drives half the distance, eliminating cash exchanges but requiring coordination on a midpoint

Your parenting plan should specify which costs are covered (mileage, airfare, unaccompanied minor fees for flights, highway tolls) and how receipts are shared and reimbursed. Without this specificity, transportation costs become a recurring source of conflict.

What the Parenting Plan Must Address

A long-distance parenting plan needs more detail than a local one. Beyond the schedule and transportation costs, address:

Travel logistics. Who books flights? Who drops off and picks up at the airport? What happens if a flight is canceled? Can the child fly as an unaccompanied minor, and at what age?

Advance notice requirements. Specify how far in advance each parent must confirm travel dates — 30 days is typical for school-break periods, 60 days for international travel.

Communication schedule. Set specific days and times for video calls during the school year. The plan should protect this time — neither parent should schedule activities that conflict with the child's scheduled call with the other parent.

Passport and travel documents. Specify which parent holds the child's passport, how the other parent can access it for their parenting time, and whether both parents must consent to international travel.

Right of first refusal. Standard right-of-first-refusal clauses may not make sense at long distances. If the custodial parent needs overnight childcare, calling the distant parent to come watch the child may be impractical. Adjust the threshold accordingly.

Building the Plan

Minnesota courts evaluate long-distance arrangements under the same 12 best-interest factors used for all custody decisions. Factor 8 — the need for stability and continuity in the child's home, school, and community — carries extra weight when distance is involved. Factor 10 — maximizing parenting time with both parents — pushes courts to find creative scheduling solutions rather than simply reducing the distant parent's time.

The Minnesota Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide includes worksheets for building parenting time schedules across different distance scenarios, calculating overnight totals, and drafting transportation cost-sharing provisions.

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