Parenting Time

Protecting Your Time With Your Children

For most parents, few things matter more than the time they spend with their children. When families separate, the parenting-time schedule shapes daily life for everyone involved. Whether you are establishing a schedule, responding to a proposed change, or trying to address denied parenting time, you deserve clear guidance about Minnesota law.

At Lauren Pevehouse Law, we help parents understand parenting-time issues and evaluate options for maintaining healthy, consistent relationships with their children. Our goal is to help clients pursue workable arrangements that protect their parental rights and support their children’s best interests.

This page explains parenting-time schedules, Minnesota’s 25% presumption, modifications, restrictions, enforcement, and moving a child outside Minnesota.

‍ ‍‍ ‍ What Is Parenting Time?

Parenting time is the time a parent spends with a child under an agreement or court order. A parenting-time schedule identifies when that time occurs, including regular weeks, weekends, holidays, school breaks, and vacations.

Parenting time is related to, but separate from,child custody:

  • Legal custody concerns major decisions about the child’s upbringing, including education, health care, and religious training.

  • Physical custody and residence concern the child’s routine daily care and control and where the child lives.

  • Parenting time is the time a parent spends with the child regardless of the custody designation.

A parent who does not have physical custody may still receive parenting time under the agreement or court order. The amount and conditions depend on the child’s best interests and may be limited, supervised, or otherwise structured when safety concerns exist.

In the absence of other evidence, Minnesota law applies a rebuttable presumption that a child should receive at least 25% of the parenting time with each parent. This is a starting point, not a guaranteed minimum or an automatic entitlement.

The court may order a different schedule when the child’s best interests, safety, age, needs, or other evidence support a different result. Parenting-time percentages may be calculated using overnights or, in some circumstances, significant periods of daytime care when the child does not stay overnight.

A 25% schedule is not a ceiling. Some families use schedules that provide substantially more time to each parent, including schedules that are close to equal. The appropriate arrangement depends on the child and family, not a one-size-fits-all formula.

Minnesota’s 25% Parenting-Time Presumption

Parenting-Time Schedules and Parenting Plans

A workable parenting-time schedule should be clear enough to reduce uncertainty while remaining practical for the child and parents. Depending on the family, a schedule may address:

  • The regular weekly or biweekly routine;

  • Weekends and weekdays;

  • Holidays and special occasions;

  • School breaks and summer vacation;

  • Birthdays and family events;

  • Transportation and exchange arrangements;

  • Travel and notice requirements;

  • Telephone, video, and other communication with the child;

  • School, medical, extracurricular, and activity information;

  • Procedures for schedule changes; and

  • Methods for resolving future disputes.

Minnesota parents may use a parenting plan that addresses the parenting-time schedule, decision-making responsibilities, and a method for resolving disagreements. A clear, detailed plan can reduce uncertainty and help prevent avoidable disputes by answering common questions in advance.

Not every provision is appropriate or required in every family. A schedule should reflect the child’s age, school and activity commitments, developmental needs, relationships, transportation demands, and any safety concerns.

Minnesota courts decide parenting time according to the best interests of the child. The court considers the child’s needs, relationships, safety, development, each parent’s history of care, the effect of the proposed schedule, domestic abuse, and other relevant factors.

The court considers the potential benefits and detriments of maximizing or limiting parenting time with either parent. The goal is a schedule that supports the child’s well-being and maintains appropriate parent-child relationships while addressing safety, stability, and the family’s circumstances.

How Minnesota Courts Decide Parenting Time

Supervised or Restricted Parenting Time

A court may restrict parenting time if it finds that parenting time is likely to endanger the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health or safety, or impair the child’s emotional development.

Depending on the circumstances, restrictions may address:

  • The time or duration of visits;

  • The location of parenting time;

  • Transportation or exchange arrangements;

  • Contact between the parents;

  • Conditions such as sobriety or treatment;

  • Supervision by an approved person or professional provider; or

  • Other measures designed to protect the child.

If warranted, a court may deny parenting time. The restrictions appropriate in a particular case depend on the evidence, the child’s needs, and the court’s findings.

Modifying Parenting Time

Parenting-time schedules may be modified when a change serves the child’s best interests. The court may consider:

  • The child’s age and developmental needs;

  • School and activity schedules;

  • Changes in either parent’s circumstances;

  • Transportation and distance between homes;

  • The child’s adjustment to the existing schedule;

  • Safety concerns; and

  • How the current arrangement is working in practice.

A requested parenting-time change that would effectively alter physical custody or the child’s primary residence may be treated as a custody modification and may be subject to stricter legal requirements.

Restricting Parenting Time

Restricting parenting time requires additional findings. A court may restrict the time, place, duration, or supervision of parenting time when it finds that parenting time is likely to endanger the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health or safety, or impair the child’s emotional development.

Because the applicable standard depends on the existing order and the change requested, legal review is important before filing or responding to a motion.

Enforcing a Parenting-Time Order

When a parent intentionally denies or interferes with court-ordered parenting time without a legally sufficient reason, Minnesota courts may order remedies. The court will consider the circumstances, including whether the denial was reasonably necessary to protect the child’s physical or emotional health.

Depending on the facts and the relief requested, possible remedies may include:

  • Compensatory parenting time to replace time that was denied;

  • Attorney fees, court costs, or other costs;

  • Civil penalties;

  • Contempt of court;

  • When a parent intentionally denies or interferes with court-ordered parenting time without a legally sufficient reason, Minnesota courts may order remedies. The court will consider the circumstances, including whether the denial was reasonably necessary to protect the child’s physical or emotional health.

    Depending on the facts and the relief requested, possible remedies may include:

    • Compensatory parenting time to replace time that was denied;

    • Attorney fees, court costs, or other costs;

    • Civil penalties;

    • Contempt of court;

    • Appointment or use of a parenting-time expeditor;

    • Changes to the parenting-time order; or

    • In serious or persistent cases, possible custody consequences.

    Not every violation results in every remedy. Documentation such as calendars, messages, exchange records, and copies of the existing order can be important when asking the court to enforce parenting time.Appointment or use of a parenting-time expeditor;

  • Changes to the parenting-time order; or

  • In serious or persistent cases, possible custody consequences.

Not every violation results in every remedy. Documentation such as calendars, messages, exchange records, and copies of the existing order can be important when asking the court to enforce parenting time.

Parenting-Time Expeditors

A court may appoint a parenting-time expeditor, a neutral professional who helps resolve certain parenting-time disputes within the authority granted by the appointment order and Minnesota law.

A parenting-time expeditor may address disagreements about the interpretation or implementation of an existing schedule and, in appropriate circumstances, may award compensatory parenting time or recommend certain costs or fees to the court. An expeditor cannot decide every custody-related issue or make changes beyond the authority provided by law and the appointment order.

Parenting-time expeditors may charge fees. Whether an expeditor is available, appropriate, or required depends on the court order and circumstances.

Parenting-Time Expeditors

A parent generally should not respond to a parenting-time dispute by unilaterally withholding the child, changing the court-ordered schedule, or stopping child-support payments.

Parenting time and child support are legally separate obligations. A dispute about one generally does not excuse violating the other. If immediate safety is at issue, obtain emergency legal guidance or contact the appropriate authorities rather than relying on informal retaliation or self-help.

When the parent with whom the child resides wants to move the child’s residence to another state, and the other parent has court-ordered parenting time, the relocating parent generally must obtain the other parent’s consent or a court order.

If the parents do not agree, the court considers statutory factors involving:

  • The child’s relationships with each parent, siblings, and other significant people;

  • The child’s age, needs, and developmental stage;

  • The likely effect of the move on the child’s physical, educational, and emotional development;

  • The feasibility of preserving the relationship with the parent who is not moving;

  • Transportation, logistics, and financial considerations;

  • The child’s preference, when appropriate based on age and maturity;

  • Each parent’s reasons for supporting or opposing the move;

  • Whether either parent has promoted or interfered with the child’s relationship with the other parent;

  • The potential quality-of-life effects of the move; and

  • Domestic abuse, safety, and welfare concerns.

The parent requesting permission to move ordinarily has the burden of proof. If that parent has been a victim of domestic abuse by the parent opposing the move, Minnesota law shifts the burden to the opposing parent.

The court may not permit an out-of-state move intended to interfere with the other parent’s court-ordered parenting time.

The specific out-of-state relocation rule does not apply in the same way to every move within Minnesota. However, an in-state move may still affect the parenting schedule, school arrangements, transportation, or the terms of an existing order.

Moving a Child Outside Minnesota

Does Parenting Time Affect Child Support?

Yes. Minnesota’s child-support guidelines include a parenting expense adjustment based on the court-ordered parenting-time percentage.

The percentage is commonly calculated using overnights. In some circumstances, qualifying significant periods of daytime care may also be considered when the child does not stay overnight. If there is no court order awarding parenting time, the parenting expense adjustment generally is not applied.

Parenting time affects the child-support calculation, but parenting time and support remain separate legal obligations. A parent generally should not deny parenting time because support has not been paid or stop paying support because parenting time has been denied.

Mediation and Other Ways to Resolve Disputes

Many parenting-time disputes can be addressed through direct negotiation, mediation, a parenting-time expeditor, or another appropriate dispute-resolution process. Resolving disputes by agreement can give parents greater control and may reduce the time and expense of litigation.

Mediation and other facilitative processes are not appropriate in every case. Domestic abuse, coercion, or safety concerns may affect whether a process is suitable or may create an exception to ordinary alternative dispute-resolution requirements.

Depending on the agreed scope and the case, parenting-time counsel can help with: creating schedules and parenting plans; negotiating practical arrangements; asking for or responding to temporary orders; preparing for mediation or other dispute resolution; representing a parent in contested hearings; seeking or opposing schedule changes; determining if a change is really a custody modification; enforcing parenting time and seeking remedies; handling expeditor issues; opposing or requesting out-of-state moves; and handling requests for supervised or restricted parenting time. The best approach depends on the current order, case history, the child’s needs, the relief sought, and any safety concerns.

How a Minnesota Parenting-Time Attorney Can Help

How a Minnesota Parenting-Time Attorney Can Help

Parenting-time decisions can affect your family’s daily life for years. Lauren Pevehouse Law helps clients understand their rights, evaluate their options, and pursue schedules that support their children’s best interests.

We serve St. Paul, Minneapolis, Woodbury, Maplewood, Stillwater, Chisago County, Washington County, and communities throughout the greater Twin Cities.

 Serving St. Paul, Chisago County, and the greater Twin Cities