Template B – Joint 50/50

PDF + editable DOCX · Beyond 18 Addendum included

There's a line in your draft decree that says “$0, equal time,” and you can't tell if it's correct or the thing you'll regret in eighteen months when someone runs the actual calculation.

The decree-drafting season is the part most parents underestimate. Temporary orders are loud: hearings, deadlines. The decree is quiet, drafted over email, signed at a kitchen table, and then it governs the next decade of your family's life. This template is for the parent who wants to walk in with something instead of nothing.

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.

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.

Template B – Joint 50/50 is an educational drafting template. 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.

The $0 assumption that costs people later

“Equal time means $0 child support” is the most common assumption parents bring to 50/50, and it isn't a safe one. In a number of states, guideline formulas weigh the income difference between parents alongside the time split, which can produce a non-zero number even at exactly equal overnights. Whether your state works that way, and what it produces for your figures, is for your attorney to run. That's why the support section ships with both options drafted side by side, zero support with the worksheet and net support under your state's guidelines. Your attorney runs the math, picks the one that fits, deletes the other.

What's inside

What's inside, court-format, structured for your attorney's review:

•A sixty-day pattern-of-modification trigger, drafted so a persistent real-life schedule drift can prompt a recalculation without a separate motion. Whether that is enforceable is a question for your attorney.

•Symmetric tie-breakers, drafted for equal authority rather than residence-driven authority: major decisions route provider, then Parenting Coordinator, then Court, with no after-the-fact override.

•Plus curbside exchange protocol, complete shared-expense framework, tax allocation (Form 8332), health insurance, travel notice, driver's ed, and document production, at the same level of detail throughout.

•Automatic fee-shifting for concealed finances, as drafted, the non-disclosing party bears the cost of finding it, without a separate showing of willfulness.

•A silence-as-consent rule, no response to a properly formatted request in 48 hours is documented as a yes, so neither parent waits indefinitely.

•A tiered dispute-resolution sequence, five steps before court (notice, cure, Parenting Coordinator, mediation, court), drafted to make court the last resort.

•An expanded right-of-first-refusal provision, with a stated trigger threshold, an advance notice deadline, a response window, a default when nobody answers, and a list of what does not count, including school, regular daycare, activities, and time with relatives while the scheduled parent remains available.

•Attorney Notes, the drafting reasoning behind each provision, so you walk in saying “here's what I built and why” instead of starting from zero.

•Twenty-one hard-won lessons, drawn from observation and what other parents describe. They describe what tends to happen, not legal rules for your case.

Included free, the Beyond 18 Addendum. Most parenting plans end at the child's 18th birthday. Most disputes don't. A companion on the post-majority issues most decrees are silent on: FAFSA filing including the 2024 Simplification Act change, college and trade-school cost-sharing, ACA coverage to 26, tax dependency past 18, disabled-adult-child support with SSI and Medicaid coordination, and adult-child autonomy. Template-agnostic, works alongside any parenting plan, with attorney review.

Which one fits

•Template B, Joint 50/50: overnights within a few per year of each other.

•Template C, Sole Custody: one parent has the clear majority of overnights, with joint legal custody preserved.

•Template A, Split Custody: two or more children, with at least one living primarily with each parent.

•Not sure where you land? The Complete Bundle includes a 60-second decision tree, and your attorney can confirm which structure fits your case. Bought the wrong one? Email within 14 days and we'll exchange it at no cost.

This may fit your situation if

•You're at the decree-drafting stage and want a written framework to bring to your attorney

•You'd rather walk in knowing what you're asking for than start from a blank page

•You want the drafting reasoning, not just the language

What this is not: Legal advice. A finished or court-ready document. A child-support calculation for your case. 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.

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Reviewed and updated July 2026.

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