Parenting Plan Alberta: What to Include and How to Draft One

You're separating and you need a parenting plan. Not a vague agreement that "we'll figure it out as we go" — a written, detailed document that covers schedules, decisions, holidays, expenses, and what happens when you disagree. Alberta courts expect this level of specificity, especially under the Family Focused Protocol.

A parenting plan is the foundational document that governs how you and your co-parent will raise your children after separation. When done well, it prevents conflict. When done poorly — or not at all — every scheduling decision becomes a potential fight.

Required Elements

A comprehensive Alberta parenting plan must address:

Primary residence. Where the child lives most of the time (or whether it's a shared arrangement). Be specific about the address and which parent's home is the child's primary residence for school enrollment and government benefits.

Parenting time schedule. The week-to-week rotation, including exact transition days and times. Common options for Alberta families:

• 2-2-3 rotation — the child alternates between parents every two to three days (50/50, best for younger children who need frequent contact with both parents)
• 2-2-5-5 rotation — each parent has fixed weeknights (e.g., Mon/Tue with one, Wed/Thu with the other), alternating weekends (50/50, very stable for school-age children)
• Alternating weeks — seven days with each parent (50/50, suited for teenagers)
• Every-other-weekend plus midweek — primary residence with one parent, the other has alternate weekends and one midweek evening (roughly 60/40)

Holiday and vacation schedule. Specify how you'll handle Christmas, New Year's, Thanksgiving, Easter, summer break, spring break, fall break, Mother's Day, Father's Day, each parent's birthday, and the child's birthday. Most families alternate major holidays by year, with specific transition times (e.g., "Christmas Day at 10:00 AM").

Decision-making responsibility. Whether major decisions (education, healthcare, religion, extracurriculars) are made jointly or by one parent. If joint, include a dispute resolution mechanism for deadlocks.

Communication. How parents communicate with each other (email, co-parenting app, text) and how each parent communicates with the child during the other's parenting time (phone calls at agreed times, video calls).

Transportation. Who drives the child to transitions, and where exchanges happen. Neutral public locations (school, library, community centre) reduce conflict. Specify who bears travel costs if parents live far apart.

Section 7 expenses. How extraordinary costs (childcare, orthodontics, competitive sports, tutoring) are shared. The standard is proportional to each parent's income.

Relocation clause. Reference the 60-day written notice requirement under the Divorce Act for any move that would significantly impact the other parent's time with the child.

Specified vs. Reasonable Parenting Time

Alberta courts offer two approaches:

Specified parenting time means every detail is written down — exact days, times, pickup locations, holiday rotations. This is the default for most separations because it eliminates ambiguity.

Reasonable parenting time is flexible and relies on ongoing agreement between parents. It works only when both parents communicate well and have a genuinely cooperative relationship. The moment conflict increases, "reasonable" becomes "constant negotiation," and you'll wish you'd specified everything from the start.

If you're unsure, go with specified. You can always agree to deviate from the written schedule when both parents are willing — the plan is the fallback when cooperation breaks down.

Getting Your Plan Approved

If both parents agree on the plan, convert it to a consent order and submit it to the Court of King's Bench. The plan becomes legally enforceable once a judge signs it.

If you can't agree, you'll present your proposed plan at the Mandatory Intake Triage Conference. The MIT Justice will review both parents' proposals and issue interim directions — often drawing from the more detailed, better-prepared plan.

Either way, arriving with a thorough, specific plan puts you in a stronger position than showing up with general ideas. The Alberta Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide provides fill-in-the-blank worksheets for every element above, plus a consent order template formatted for the Court of King's Bench.

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