Your Kids Deserve a Parenting Plan That Survives the First Disagreement — Not a Vague Agreement That Triggers a Family Access Motion
New Hampshire overhauled its custody laws on January 1, 2025. The state now presumes that approximately equal parenting time benefits your child — each parent with residential responsibility for at least 40% of the year, or 146 overnights. If a judge departs from that baseline, they must put specific written findings on the record explaining why.
The court gives you blank forms for free. What it does not give you is a plain explanation of how the 2025 equal-time presumption interacts with child support calculations, how to draft the nine mandatory sections of your Parenting Plan (Form NHJB-2064-F) so a judge approves it on the first submission, or which terms — like "primary residential parent" — will get your plan rejected before anyone reads it.
The New Hampshire Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide is a Process Navigation Blueprint — a step-by-step preparation tool that walks you through every phase of New Hampshire's parenting rights process using the actual statutory framework under RSA 461-A. It does not generate documents or give legal advice. It teaches you the sequence, the requirements, and the preparation strategies so you can draft enforceable terms, complete your mandatory disclosures, and avoid the vague clauses that trigger enforcement actions.
What's Inside the Guide
- The NH Filing Sequence — Every form in chronological order: Parenting Petition (NHJB-2059-F or NHJB-2061-F), UCCJEA Affidavit (NHJB-2660-DFP), Personal Data Sheet, service requirements, and the 45-day deadlines for the Child Impact Seminar and Rule 1.25-A financial disclosures — so you never miss a step or a deadline
- Best-Interest Factor Worksheets — All 13 statutory factors under RSA 461-A:6 translated into self-assessment questions you can answer about your own family, so you understand how a judge will evaluate your case before you sit down at mediation
- Parenting Plan Drafting Guide — A section-by-section walkthrough of all nine mandatory sections (A through I) under Court Rule 2.18 — not just what to write, but which vocabulary the court will reject and how to structure routine schedules, holiday rotations, vacation splits, and dispute-resolution clauses
- Five Parenting Schedule Templates — Ready-to-customize schedules including the 2-2-5-5, 3-4-4-3, alternating weeks, and long-distance options — each mapped to overnight counts so you can see the child support impact before you propose a schedule
- 2025 Child Support Calculator Walkthrough — Step-by-step instructions for understanding how the new shared-parenting tiers work, including the rebuttable presumption of zero support when both parents have equal time and similar incomes, and what happens when incomes are unequal
- Mediation Preparation Guide — What to bring to court-connected mediation (the $450 flat-fee session), how to organize your Financial Affidavit, proposed schedule, and supporting documentation, and how to approach mediation as collaborative problem-solving rather than a courtroom battle
- Family Access Motion Guide — The 2025 expedited enforcement process under RSA 461-A:4-a: the 10-day summons rule, the 60-day adjudication timeline, and the remedies available when your co-parent denies scheduled parenting time
- Modification, Relocation & Emergency Orders — How to change an existing parenting plan under RSA 461-A:11, the 60-day advance notice requirement for relocation under RSA 461-A:12, and the process for filing an Ex Parte Emergency Motion when your child faces immediate harm
Who This Guide Is For
- Parents filing for divorce in New Hampshire who need to establish a parenting plan under the 2025 equal-time presumption
- Unmarried parents filing a Parenting Petition to formalize custody and residential responsibility
- Parents preparing for mandatory court-connected mediation who want to arrive with organized, enforceable terms instead of vague preferences
- Parents seeking to modify an existing parenting plan after a substantial change in circumstances
- Anyone planning to hire a family law attorney who wants to reduce billable hours by doing the preparation work themselves
Why Not Just Use Free Court Forms?
The New Hampshire Judicial Branch provides excellent free forms and self-help resources. This guide does not replace them — it is a practical workbook that helps you understand the court's terminology, organize your goals, and draft your terms before you fill out those official documents.
The blank forms ask what you want. They do not explain how overnight counts interact with child support tiers under the 2025 reforms, why certain parenting plan vocabulary is legally prohibited, or how to structure your Form 364 mediation preparation so it supports your proposed schedule. National DIY portals charge $99–$199 for generic templates that miss New Hampshire's unique terminology rules, the 2025 equal-time presumption, and the new Family Access Motion enforcement process.
This guide bridges the gap between blank court forms and a $150–$400-per-hour attorney. It is the preparation work — organized, sequenced, and specific to New Hampshire Circuit Court Family Division — that saves you from costly mistakes or thousands in legal fees.
What You Get
Your purchase includes 12 printable PDFs — the complete guide (17 chapters plus 3 appendices), a parenting plan starter checklist, and 10 standalone worksheets you can print and use independently:
- Best-Interest Factor Worksheet — Self-assessment against all 13 statutory factors
- Holiday Rotation Worksheet — Plan holiday and vacation allocation
- Overnight Counting Worksheet — Verify your schedule meets the 146-overnight threshold
- Child Support Worksheet — Organize income and deduction figures for Form NHJB-2101-FP
- Financial Planning Worksheet — Property division and family home questions
- Mediation Preparation Checklist — Everything to bring to your mediation session
- Filing Deadlines Tracker — Critical deadlines with consequences of missing them
- Forms Reference Guide — Every required form in chronological order
- Cost Summary — Court fees and total minimum cost breakdown
- Pre-Filing Document Checklist — Documents to gather before filing your petition
The guide covers the full Family Division sequence from initial filing through final order, with New Hampshire-specific court contacts, form references, cost breakdowns, and resource directories.
Satisfaction Guarantee: If the guide does not help you feel more prepared and organized for your custody process, email us and we will make it right.
— Less Than One Hour of Attorney Time
A single family law consultation in New Hampshire runs $150–$400 per hour, with retainers starting at $2,500. This guide gives you the preparation framework to organize your case, understand every step of the process, and draft your terms before that consultation — or handle the process yourself with confidence.
The free checklist gives you a quick-start overview of the custody process and key preparation steps. The full guide gives you the complete roadmap, all the worksheets, and the New Hampshire-specific legal framework you need to get it right.