The Complete Bundle – All Three Parenting Plans

Three custody templates, the bundle guide, the glossary, consolidated attorney notes, and the Beyond 18 Addendum in one unified document. PDF + editable DOCX

The hardest part isn't choosing the custody arrangement. It's choosing it now, in the middle of the worst year of your life, for a family that won't be the same family in five years. Your kids will be older. Their needs will shift. One parent may move. A schedule that fits a 7-year-old won't fit a 14-year-old.

Most decree-drafting proceeds as if none of that is true: pick one custody type, build one set of provisions, file it, and hope nothing changes. This bundle is built differently.

The three structures, in plain language

What “Joint 50/50” means, in plain language. Both parents share joint legal custody, meaning both participate in major decisions about education, medical care, and welfare. Physical custody is shared close to equally. “Close to equally” is doing real work in that sentence. Equal-time schedules vary widely, week-on/week-off, 2-2-3, 5-2-2-5, alternating blocks, and the overnight counts don't have to land on exactly half to be treated as an equal-time arrangement. What this framework addresses is the structure: two full households, symmetric authority, and a schedule both parents read the same way. The specific calendar is yours and your attorney's to set.

Sole physical / joint legal, in plain language. The children live primarily with one parent; the other has a defined parent-time schedule. The part most people get wrong: “sole physical” describes where the children sleep most nights. It doesn't transfer decision-making. Joint legal custody is preserved in most of these arrangements, so major decisions stay shared. How much parent-time the other parent has varies enormously, from the statutory minimum to something close to equal, and the structure still holds.

Split custody, in plain language. Two or more children, with at least one living primarily with each parent. Both parents typically still share joint legal custody of every child, not just the one in their home. The schedules don't have to match between siblings, and sibling time together is its own provision rather than a byproduct of the split. This is the arrangement with the most moving parts, which is exactly why consistent language across every stage matters most here.

Which structure describes your case is a legal question, and not one I can answer. I'm not an attorney. This describes what the framework covers so you can recognize whether it's in the neighborhood, then confirm it with counsel.

The Complete Bundle is an educational drafting bundle containing all three custody templates (Split, Joint 50/50, Sole Custody), the bundle guide, the glossary, consolidated attorney notes, and the Beyond 18 Addendum in one unified document. It is a starting point to bring to a licensed attorney, not legal advice, not a finished court document, and not a substitute for an attorney. Created by a parent who navigated the family court system, sold by ValuED Sales LLC dba May Divorce Be With You.

What's inside

What's inside, one document, designed to be read in order. Four of these pieces exist in no single template:

•Foreword and STOP page. A personal letter to read first, then the factors that should send you to a licensed attorney before you customize anything. If even one applies, the templates aren't your starting point, and the bundle says so directly.

•Part 1, Using This Bundle. How it's structured, the brackets you'll fill in, and twenty-one hard-won lessons drawn from observation and what other parents describe.

•Part 2, Which Template and Why (bundle-only). A 60-second decision tree, a side-by-side comparison of all three custody types, and the most common misconception about each.

•Part 3, The Three Operative Templates. All three plans with the sections that differ between them: Recitals, Custody, Decision-Making, Financial Provisions.

•Part 4, Universal Sections. The provisions identical across all three: Definitions, Communication, Silence-as-Consent, Parenting Coordinator, Dispute Resolution, and the remaining sections. Most of the operative scaffolding lives here.

•Part 5, Beyond 18 Addendum. The post-majority issues most decrees are silent on.

•Part 6, Glossary (bundle-only). Twenty-four legal terms in plain English, with examples of where each appears.

•Part 7, Attorney Notes (consolidated, bundle-only). The reasoning behind every provision, cross-referenced, so your attorney can see the design intent at a glance.

All three share the silence-as-consent rule, automatic fee-shifting for concealed finances, the curbside exchange protocol, the complete shared-expense framework, the expanded right-of-first-refusal provision, the tiered dispute-resolution process, and the universal sections. Whether any specific provision is enforceable in your state is a question for your attorney.

Which one fits

•The bundle fits if you're weighing more than one arrangement and want them side by side; if you expect your situation may change in the coming years; or if you want the bundle guide, glossary, and consolidated notes the singles don't include.

•A single template fits if you're confident about your arrangement, drafting this decree now, and don't anticipate it changing materially before the children age out.

•Not sure? Part 2's 60-second decision tree is built for exactly that, and your attorney can confirm which structure fits your case. Bought the wrong thing? Email within 14 days and we'll exchange it at no cost.

This may fit your situation if

•You're between two custody arrangements and want to compare them side by side

•You expect your situation may change in the coming years and want flexibility in hand

•You want the bundle guide, glossary, and consolidated attorney notes, none of which exist in the singles

What this is not: Legal advice. A finished or court-ready document. A child-support calculation for your case. A determination of which custody arrangement is right for any specific family. A guarantee any provision is enforceable in your state. A substitute for an attorney licensed in your state. A guarantee of any outcome.

⚠ Read Before Purchase

This is an educational publication, not legal advice. The author is not an attorney. Purchase does not create an attorney-client relationship, and no information shared with the seller is protected by attorney-client privilege. Materials were drafted with reference to Utah law. Statutory citations and procedural references will not match other states' law without modification. An attorney licensed in your state must review and approve every provision before use, including in Utah.

Do not use this product as your starting point if any of the following applies to your case: domestic violence; active protective order; substance abuse affecting parenting; CPS or DCFS involvement; abuse allegations (substantiated or not); active mental health crisis; international parental abduction risk; significant special needs; complex finances or hidden-asset concerns; or active parental alienation. In any of those situations, go directly to a licensed family law attorney.

This may not be the right starting point right now if any of these describe you: you're afraid of what the other parent will do if they learn you're preparing; there has been physical violence or a threat of it; there have been threats to take or harm the children, or you; the other parent monitors your phone, location, accounts, or movements; there's a current or recent protective order in either direction; or there's active substance abuse, severe untreated mental illness, or suicidal ideation in the home. Some of the preparation described here can increase danger in a relationship that's already dangerous. If even one applies, work with someone trained in safety planning first. A domestic violence advocate can help sequence things for your situation. National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 (text START to 88788), 24/7, free, confidential. In immediate danger: 911, always.

Refunds. All sales are final. These are instant digital downloads, delivered immediately on purchase, so we do not offer refunds. Two exceptions: if a file fails to download or arrives corrupted, email sruff@valuedsales.com and we will re-deliver or refund. And if you bought the wrong custody structure, email within 14 days and we will exchange it at no cost.

Limitation of liability. To the maximum extent permitted by law, ValuED Sales LLC's liability for any claim arising from this product is limited to the amount you paid for it.

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Reviewed and updated July 2026.

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