Building a parenting plan is one of the most concrete steps in a California custody case. This guide covers what the plan itself should say, how paternity fits in for unmarried parents, and where to find real templates instead of generic ones.
Key Takeaway: A California parenting plan describes legal custody (decision-making), physical custody (where the children live), and a visitation schedule. Unmarried parents need to establish legal parentage before they can get custody, visitation, or child support orders. Once parentage is established, both parents have equal rights until a court order says otherwise.
What Is a California Parenting Plan and What Should It Include?
A parenting plan contains the orders for child custody and visitation (also called parenting time). It should describe how you will care for your children, where they will live, and when they will see each parent. Parenting plans must serve the best interest of the children.
California splits custody into two separate concepts:
- Legal custody: who makes important decisions for the children, like health care, education, and welfare (for example, school choice, religious activities, or medical care)
- Physical custody: who the children live with most of the time
Either type can be joint, shared between both parents, or sole, held by only one parent. Visitation itself usually takes one of a few forms: a set schedule with specific dates and times, a more open "reasonable" arrangement the parents work out themselves, supervised visits when there are safety concerns, or, in rare cases, no visitation at all. Courts can also allow virtual visits, such as video calls, when in-person time is not possible.
Until there is a court order, both parents have the same rights: either parent can make decisions about the children, and neither has more right to have the children in their care than the other.
How Do You Establish Paternity in California?
Only a legal parent can get custody, visitation, and child support orders in California. You are automatically a legal parent if you gave birth to the child, if you and the other parent were married or in a registered domestic partnership when the child was born or conceived, or if a judge has already determined you are a legal parent in another case. Otherwise, there are two main ways to establish parentage (paternity):
- Sign a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage (VDOP) with the other parent, usually done at the hospital when the child is born, though it can be signed later. Once filed with the state, it has the same legal effect as a court order.
- Ask a court to determine parentage through a parentage case, including through your local child support agency, which can open a case to establish both parentage and child support.
Our detailed guide to parentage in California covers the Voluntary Declaration, the court petition process, and the marital presumption in more depth.
Custody Rights for Unmarried Parents in California
Being unmarried does not, by itself, prevent a parent from getting custody or visitation rights. It does add a required first step: establishing legal parentage, if it is not already established through marriage or a domestic partnership at the time of birth. Once both parents are legal parents, whether through the marital presumption, a Voluntary Declaration, or a court order, they have equal custody rights going into their case. A judge then decides custody and visitation the same way for unmarried parents as for divorcing spouses: based on the best interest of the child.
How Do You Get a Temporary Custody Agreement?
While a custody case is open, either parent can ask for a temporary custody order to cover the period before the case is finalized, generally through a Request for Order (Form FL-300). If there is a genuine emergency, meaning immediate danger of serious harm to the child or an immediate risk the child will be taken out of California, you can instead ask for a temporary emergency (ex parte) order. A judge can decide whether to grant it the same day the forms are filed, or by the next business day, and you will also get a hearing date where the order can be extended or changed. You must already have, or be starting, a family law case to make this kind of request.
Parenting Plan Templates and Examples
California does not publish one single mandatory parenting plan template, since plans need to fit each family's actual schedule and any safety concerns. A few real starting points:
- Families Change offers a free online guide and worksheet to help build a plan, with separate versions for parents, children, and teens.
- The Los Angeles Superior Court publishes its own guidance on creating a parenting plan.
- Your court's mediator can walk through different plan options with you if you and the other parent cannot agree on your own, before your case goes in front of a judge.
- Form FL-341, Child Custody and Visitation (Parenting Time) Order Attachment, is the Judicial Council form used to formally attach your agreed plan to the court's order once you have one.
If you are concerned the other parent will not follow a plan, courts recommend making the plan as clear and detailed as possible about the issues you are worried about, rather than leaving room for interpretation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a California parenting plan include?
It should describe how you and the other parent will care for your children, where they will live, and when they will see each parent. It also needs to cover legal custody (who makes decisions about health care, education, and welfare) and physical custody (who the children live with), plus a visitation schedule that works for your family, including holidays and vacations.
Is there an official California parenting plan template?
The California Courts Self-Help Guide does not publish one single mandatory template, since every family's plan looks different. It points to resources like Families Change, an online guide with a parenting plan worksheet, and notes that your court's mediator can walk through different plan options with you. The Los Angeles Superior Court also publishes its own guidance on creating a parenting plan. Court forms like FL-341 are used to attach the final agreed plan to your court order.
How do unmarried parents get custody rights in California?
Only legal parents can get custody and visitation orders in California. If you were not married when your child was born, you generally need to establish legal parentage first, either by both parents signing a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage or through a court parentage case, before you can ask for custody, visitation, or child support orders.
Do both unmarried parents have equal custody rights before a court order?
Once parentage is legally established, yes. Until there is a court order, both legal parents have the same rights, meaning either parent can make decisions about the child and neither has more right to have the child in their care than the other. This is true whether the parents were ever married.
How do I get a temporary custody order in California?
You generally ask for one through a Request for Order (Form FL-300) in an open family law case. If there is a genuine emergency, meaning immediate danger of serious harm to the child or an immediate risk the child will be taken out of California, you can ask for a temporary emergency (ex parte) order, which a judge can grant the same day or the next business day, with a hearing scheduled to follow.
What is the difference between legal custody and physical custody?
Legal custody is who makes important decisions for the children, such as health care, education, and religious upbringing. Physical custody is who the children live with most of the time. Either type of custody can be joint (shared between both parents) or sole (held by only one parent), and a parenting plan typically addresses both separately.
How Virdix Helps
Virdix helps prepare your California custody paperwork, including the Form FL-341 attachment that formalizes your parenting plan, and keeps your answers consistent across every form in your case. Visit the custody hub for more on the overall custody process, or our parentage guide if you need to establish legal parentage first.
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Virdix is a document preparation service, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed California family law attorney.
Sources: California Courts Self-Help Center (selfhelp.courts.ca.gov).