South Dakota Parenting Guidelines: What the UJS-302 Rules Actually Require

What the UJS-302 Parenting Guidelines Are

When a summons and complaint are served in a South Dakota divorce or custody case involving minor children, Form UJS-302 — the state's official Parenting Guidelines — is served with them. These guidelines aren't suggestions. Under SDCL § 25-4A-11, if the parents can't agree on a parenting plan, the guidelines automatically become a court order governing custody and visitation.

That's a detail many parents miss. The UJS-302 guidelines function as a default minimum parenting time schedule. Unless both parents agree to and the court approves something different — or a judge orders otherwise — these rules control how often each parent sees their children, when exchanges happen, and how holidays are split.

The Default Schedule for Children Age 5 and Older

For school-age children, the standard UJS-302 schedule gives the noncustodial parent:

• Alternating weekends from Friday at 3:15 PM to Monday at 8:00 AM
• One midweek overnight every Wednesday
• Extended summer parenting time (the entire summer break, minus 10 days the custodial parent can claim)

This schedule gives the noncustodial parent less than 40% of overnights annually. That's significant time, but it falls short of the 180-night threshold needed to qualify for joint physical custody under SDCL § 25-4A-21 and the shared parenting child support cross-credit under SDCL § 25-7-6.27.

If you want a true 50/50 arrangement, you'll need to negotiate or propose a custom schedule — alternating weeks, a 2-2-3 rotation, or a 2-2-5-5 plan — and get it approved by the court.

The 2026 Guidelines Modernization

The South Dakota Supreme Court approved a major update to the parenting guidelines that took effect on July 1, 2026. Existing court orders aren't automatically changed, but all new filings after that date fall under the updated rules. Key changes include:

Expanded infant overnights. The new guidelines extend overnight visitation from 18 to 24 hours for certain age groups of infants and toddlers, reflecting research on early parent-child bonding.

Breastfeeding accommodation rules. A parent cannot use breastfeeding as a reason to deny the other parent parenting time. If a mother makes bottle-feeding arrangements for daycare or babysitters, those same accommodations must be offered to the other parent.

School conference restrictions. Only legal parents may attend parent-teacher or disciplinary conferences. Step-parents and significant others are excluded unless both legal parents consent in writing.

Digital communication standards. Parents must provide one unmonitored, unblocked phone accessible to both parents. Video calls are encouraged. Both parents get access to all of the child's social media accounts — usernames and passwords — though private messages between the child and the other parent remain off-limits.

No refusal of parenting time. A child's reluctance to attend a visit is not a valid reason to cancel it. Both parents are obligated to encourage compliance with the schedule.

Objecting to the Default Guidelines

If the guidelines don't work for your situation — say you work nights, live more than 200 miles from the other parent, or have a child under 2 — you're not stuck with them. File Form UJS-372 within 10 days of service to object. The court must then schedule an interim custody hearing within 30 days of your objection.

At that hearing, you can propose an alternative schedule. The court evaluates it under the best-interests standard from Fuerstenberg v. Fuerstenberg, weighing parental fitness, home stability, the primary caretaker history, and other factors.

Long-Distance Parenting Guidelines

When parents live 200 or more miles apart, the standard alternating-weekends schedule doesn't make practical sense. The UJS-302 long-distance guidelines shift parenting time into consolidated blocks:

• The noncustodial parent receives the entire summer break (minus 10 days for the custodial parent)
• Alternating major holiday blocks — Thanksgiving one year, Christmas the next
• Reduced frequency of exchanges to minimize travel costs and disruption

This works well for school-age children who can handle longer separations, but it's a poor fit for infants and toddlers who need frequent contact with both caregivers.

How the Guidelines Affect Child Support

Your parenting time schedule directly impacts child support calculations. Under the standard UJS-302 schedule, the noncustodial parent doesn't reach the 180-night threshold needed for the shared parenting cross-credit. That means child support is calculated under the regular Income Shares model, with a potential abatement if you have 72 or more overnights per year (at least six per month).

Securing a court-ordered 50/50 parenting plan that crosses the 180-night line, together with the required written agreement to share parenting duties, responsibilities, and expenses in proportion to their incomes, qualifies the parents for the shared parenting cross-credit formula under SDCL § 25-7-6.27. The difference in support can be hundreds or thousands of dollars annually. That's why the parenting schedule isn't just a logistical decision — it has real financial consequences.

If you're working through South Dakota's custody process and need to understand how the guidelines, schedules, and support calculations fit together, the South Dakota Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide walks through each piece step by step — from filing through final decree.

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