Template C – Sole Custody

PDF + editable DOCX · Beyond 18 Addendum included

There's a “joint legal custody” line in your draft decree you're not sure you read the same way the other side does, and a relocation clause that sounds clear until you read it twice. But the part you keep coming back to is the section that isn't there. The thing you'd have asked about if you'd known to ask.

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.

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.

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 C – Sole Custody 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 “sole custody means I decide everything” trap

“Sole custody means I make all the decisions” is one of the most common assumptions parents bring to this arrangement and one of the most expensive to get wrong. Many parents are surprised to learn that in a number of states, sole physical custody speaks mainly to where the child sleeps most nights, while major decisions about education, medical care, and welfare are governed by joint legal custody, which most sole-custody arrangements still preserve. Whether your state treats it that way is a question for your attorney. The decision-making section is drafted to make that line explicit, with defined tie-breakers and backstops.

What's inside

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

•A relocation provision drafted for the children's continuity: a 50-mile or out-of-state threshold, 90 days' written notice, the other parent's consent or a court order, and a required notice package. Whether each threshold matches your state's relocation statute is a question for your attorney.

•A medical decision-making structure built so it doesn't drift into “the residence parent decides.” Major tie-breaks route to the treating provider, with a written-second-opinion override for either parent.

•An educational backstop for true deadlock rather than default authority, reachable only after good-faith consultation fails and the Parenting Coordinator has issued a determination.

•A new-partner overnight provision at a moderate threshold, 14 days' notice (notice, not consent), with safety concerns routed through the Parenting Coordinator.

•Child support payable through the state agency, set under your state's guidelines using verified income, with defined recalculation triggers. Run the calculation with your attorney before signing.

•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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