Nebraska Parenting Plan: Requirements, Templates, and How to Draft One

Nebraska will not finalize your divorce if you have minor children and no approved parenting plan. That's not a suggestion — under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2929, a decree of dissolution without an attached parenting plan isn't a final, appealable order. The court treats the plan as a structural requirement, not optional paperwork.

The state provides three blank templates. The challenge is knowing how to fill them in correctly.

Which Template Do You Need?

Nebraska offers three parent-created parenting plan forms through the Judicial Branch website, each matching a different custody arrangement:

• DC 6:5.37 — Joint Legal Custody / Joint Physical Custody (both parents share decision-making and the child spends significant time in both homes)
• DC 6:5.38 — Joint Legal Custody / Sole Physical Custody (both parents share major decisions but the child lives primarily with one parent)
• DC 6:5.39 — Sole Legal Custody / Sole Physical Custody (one parent has both decision-making authority and primary residence)

Each form has an accompanying instruction sheet (DC 6:5.37a, 6:5.38a, 6:5.39a). The instructions tell you what information goes in each blank box — but they don't explain how to draft language that will hold up in practice or how your schedule choices affect child support calculations.

What Nebraska Requires in Every Parenting Plan

Regardless of which template you use, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2929 mandates these components:

Custody designations. State clearly whether legal and physical custody are joint or sole. This determines which template you use and which child support worksheet applies.

A precise weekly schedule. Your plan must account for every day of the week with specific times. "The parents will share time equally" won't pass judicial review. You need to specify: Parent A has the child Monday 8:00 AM through Wednesday 8:00 AM, Parent B has Wednesday 8:00 AM through Friday 3:00 PM, and so on.

Holiday and school break schedules. Nebraska plans must define how holidays, summer vacation, spring break, winter break, birthdays, Mother's Day, and Father's Day are divided or alternated. The holiday schedule overrides the regular weekly rotation whenever they overlap.

Transition logistics. Specify exact pickup and drop-off times, locations, transportation responsibilities, and a reasonable wait window for late exchanges (commonly 15 minutes). Many plans designate school as the transition point during the week to minimize direct parent-to-parent contact.

A dispute resolution clause. This is mandatory, not optional. Your plan must include a structured process — typically mediation — for resolving future disagreements about the plan before either parent can file a motion in court.

Safety provisions. If there's any history of domestic abuse or high conflict, the plan must include restricted communication methods and supervised or neutral-location transitions.

Address notification. Each parent must agree to notify the other of any address change. In safety-sensitive cases, only the county and state need to be disclosed.

Educational provisions. The plan must include express provisions ensuring regular school attendance.

Common Drafting Mistakes That Get Plans Rejected

Vague schedule language. "Reasonable parenting time" or "as agreed upon by the parents" invites conflict. Nebraska judges want specific days, times, and transition procedures. If you can't point to a calendar and show exactly where the child is at any given moment, the plan needs more detail.

Ignoring the overnight count. Your parenting schedule directly determines which child support worksheet applies. Under 109 overnights for the noncustodial parent triggers Worksheet 1. Between 109 and 142 is at the court's discretion. Over 142 each triggers Worksheet 3 (joint physical custody). Parents often draft a schedule without realizing it puts them on the wrong side of a threshold that changes their child support obligation significantly.

Missing the remediation clause. Without a dispute resolution process, a judge will likely send the plan back. The most common approach is requiring mediation through a court-approved mediator or the Office of Dispute Resolution before either parent can file a modification motion.

No right of first refusal. While not strictly mandatory, many Nebraska courts expect it. A right of first refusal gives the other parent the first option for childcare when the scheduled parent will be away for a set number of hours (commonly 4 or more). Including it preemptively shows the court you've thought through real-world logistics.

The Process From Draft to Court Approval

1. Choose your template (DC 6:5.37, 5.38, or 5.39) based on your custody arrangement
2. Draft the plan with all mandatory components — both parents should review and sign
3. File proof of parenting class completion (Form DC 6:5.5) — both parents must complete an approved class within 60 days of the respondent being served
4. Submit the plan to the court as part of your divorce filing or as a separate document if custody is being established independently
5. Attend mediation if you and your co-parent can't agree — the court will order this before scheduling a contested hearing
6. Judicial review — even agreed-upon plans must be reviewed by the judge to confirm they meet statutory requirements and serve the child's best interests

The Nebraska Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide includes annotated walkthroughs of each state template, pre-written schedule language for common arrangements, and overnight calculators that show exactly how your proposed schedule maps to child support worksheets.

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