Wisconsin Parenting Plan — Form FA-4147V Requirements and What to Include

The Mandatory Form: FA-4147V

When legal custody or physical placement is contested in a Wisconsin divorce or custody case, a parent seeking legal custody or physical placement must file a written Proposed Parenting Plan using Form FA-4147V. This isn't optional — it's a statutory requirement under § 767.41(1m), and failing to file it on time can cost you your right to object to the other parent's plan.

The form is produced by the Wisconsin Records Management Committee and is available through the Circuit Court system. It's structured, detailed, and covers far more than most parents expect. Filling in the checkboxes is the easy part — building a plan that addresses the court's statutory requirements takes real preparation.

Filing Deadlines That Matter

Two deadlines control the FA-4147V timeline:

10 days before mediation. You must submit your proposed plan to the assigned family mediator at least 10 days before your initial mediation session. This gives the mediator time to review both proposals and identify areas of agreement and conflict.

60 days after mediation fails. If mediation doesn't produce an agreement (or the court waives mediation), both parents must file their individual plans with the Clerk of Court within 60 days.

The penalty for missing the 60-day deadline: Under the statute, you waive your right to object to the other parent's plan, except for cause shown (like excusable neglect). The judge can adopt the other parent's plan in its entirety without a hearing. This is one of the most consequential deadlines in the entire case.

What the Form Requires

FA-4147V covers eight core areas. Each section needs specific, operational answers — not vague statements about wanting "fair" time:

Legal custody designation. Check the box: joint custody, sole custody, or divided (where each parent has sole authority over specific decision categories like education or healthcare).

Physical placement schedule. The form includes a biweekly grid — Monday through Sunday for Week 1 and Week 2 — where you write exact pick-up and drop-off times and locations for each day. "Every other weekend" isn't specific enough. You need something like: "Friday 5:00 PM school pickup through Sunday 6:00 PM drop-off at Parent A's residence."

Holidays, school breaks, and summers. The plan must explicitly address how the child spends every school release day, spring break, Thanksgiving, Christmas/winter break, and summer vacation. Parent birthdays and Mother's Day/Father's Day need specific allocations — typically alternating by even/odd year.

Healthcare and expenses. Which parent provides health insurance? How are uninsured medical, dental, and orthodontic costs split? Most courts order a 50/50 split for out-of-pocket medical expenses regardless of the placement ratio.

Childcare. Name the specific provider and state each parent's percentage of the cost.

School enrollment. Identify the specific school and district the child will attend.

Transportation and exchanges. Who drives? Where do handoffs happen — a parent's home, a halfway point, the school? How are gas costs allocated?

Communication. How will the child contact the parent who doesn't have current placement? The plan must address phone calls, video calls, and messaging. Specify reasonable windows and expectations.

Building a Plan That Holds Up

The parents who get their plans adopted tend to do a few things consistently:

Start from your actual schedules. Build the placement grid around real work hours, the child's school location, and existing childcare arrangements. A plan that requires one parent to teleport across town for a 7 AM pickup on a workday signals that the proposal isn't grounded in reality.

Address dispute resolution. Include a mechanism for handling future disagreements — return to mediation, use a parent coordinator, or escalate to the court. Courts favor parents who build in conflict resolution rather than defaulting to litigation every time.

Include a Right of First Refusal clause if you want one. The ROFR requires a parent to offer caregiving time to the co-parent before calling a babysitter. Make it precise: define the hour threshold that triggers it (commonly 4–6 hours), the communication method, the response window (2 hours for same-day, 24 hours for future), and explicitly exempt grandparents and structured programs.

Don't overreach. A plan that demands 100% of holidays, zero flexibility, and punitive restrictions on the other parent tells the judge you're not interested in co-parenting. Judges evaluate your plan through the lens of Factor 11 — whether each parent supports the child's relationship with the other parent.

The Wisconsin Custody & Parenting Plan Guide includes section-by-section guidance for completing FA-4147V, six schedule models with overnight calculations, and a full explanation of how your placement choices affect child support under DCF 150.

See more Wisconsin guides →