Vermont Custody Laws: Parental Rights and Responsibilities Explained

If you're separating or divorcing in Vermont with children, the first thing you need to know is that Vermont doesn't use the words "custody" or "visitation" in its statutes. Instead, the state uses a framework called Parental Rights and Responsibilities (PR&R) and Parent-Child Contact under Title 15 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated.

This isn't just a labeling difference. The PR&R framework changes how courts think about your case, how you draft agreements, and what forms you file.

What PR&R Actually Means for Your Case

Vermont splits parental duties into two distinct categories:

Legal Responsibility covers major long-term decisions in four areas: education, medical and dental care, religious upbringing, and travel arrangements. Day-to-day decisions stay with whichever parent has the child at that moment.

Physical Responsibility covers routine daily care — food, shelter, supervision, and determining where your child lives and goes to school.

Parent-Child Contact replaces the old "visitation" concept. It defines the schedule for the parent who doesn't hold primary physical responsibility.

The critical distinction: a court can order a 50/50 parenting time schedule even when one parent objects. But it cannot order shared legal or shared physical responsibility unless both parents voluntarily agree in writing. Under 15 V.S.A. § 665(a), if you and your co-parent can't agree to share, the judge must assign these responsibilities to one parent.

How Vermont Courts Decide Custody

When parents can't reach agreement, judges evaluate nine statutory best-interests factors under 15 V.S.A. § 665(b):

1. Love, affection, and guidance each parent provides
2. Physical needs and safety — capacity to provide food, clothing, medical care, and a safe environment
3. Developmental needs — supporting cognitive, emotional, and social growth
4. Continuity and adjustment — stability of the child's current home, school, and community
5. Fostering the other parent's relationship — willingness to support contact with the other parent (heavily litigated; alienating behavior routinely costs custody)
6. Primary caregiver history — who handled daily care, though this isn't automatically decisive
7. Extended family relationships — connections with grandparents, step-siblings, and others
8. Cooperation and communication — ability to make joint decisions without conflict
9. Evidence of abuse — domestic violence, child abuse, or coercive controlling behavior

Factor 5 deserves special attention. Vermont courts have consistently ruled against parents who interfere with the child's relationship with the other parent — blocking phone calls, badmouthing, or refusing to facilitate visits.

Filing Costs and First Steps

Filing fees vary based on how cooperative your case is:

• Stipulated divorce (both parents agree): $90
• Contested divorce: $295
• Stipulated parentage (unmarried parents who agree): $35
• Contested parentage: $120

Fee waivers are available for parents receiving public assistance or earning below 150% of the federal poverty level.

Both parents must also complete the mandatory four-hour COPE seminar (Coping with Separation and Divorce) within 60 days of filing. The standard fee is $79, with reduced rates of $15–$30 available on a sliding scale.

What to Do Next

Start by understanding which type of responsibility matters most for your situation — many parents focus on physical time when the real leverage point is legal decision-making authority. Map out how the nine best-interests factors apply to your family before you draft anything.

The Vermont Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide walks you through each factor with self-assessment worksheets designed specifically for Vermont's PR&R framework, plus step-by-step instructions for completing Form 400-00825.

See more Vermont guides →