Child Custody Agreement - New York

CHILD CUSTODY AGREEMENT AND PROPOSED ORDER

Court: ☐ Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of [COUNTY] ☐ Family Court of the State of New York, County of [COUNTY]

Docket or index number: [NUMBER] Judge: [NAME, IF ASSIGNED]

Parent A and Parent B (the "Parents") agree on the proposed custody and parenting terms below for their children. They sign on [__/__/____] and request that the court with jurisdiction approve and enter the selected terms as an order. An existing court order remains controlling until changed by the court.

Existing custody or support orders: [COURT, CASE NUMBER, DATE, AND CONTROLLING TERMS]. Related protection, child welfare, or out-of-state proceeding: [DETAILS OR NONE]. These matters must be brought to the court's attention.

1. Requested custody and jurisdiction

Legal custody: ☐ Joint ☐ Sole to Parent A ☐ Sole to Parent B ☐ Other requested allocation: [DETAILS].

Physical custody: ☐ Shared according to Section 3 ☐ Primary residence with Parent A ☐ Primary residence with Parent B ☐ Other: [DETAILS]. School enrollment address: [ADDRESS].

The Parents ask the court to decide custody under the children's best interests as required by N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law § 240(1)(a), considering the circumstances and any safety concern in the record.

Interstate facts for the court's jurisdiction review under N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law §§ 76, 76-a and 76-h: For each child, provide the present address or whereabouts [DETAILS], each place the child lived during the last five years [DATES AND PLACES], and the names and present addresses of the people with whom the child lived during that period [DETAILS]. Identify any other custody or visitation proceeding in which a Parent participated [COURT, CASE NUMBER, DATE OF DETERMINATION, OR NONE]; any proceeding that could affect this case, including enforcement, domestic violence, protection, termination of parental rights, or adoption [COURT, CASE NUMBER, NATURE, OR NONE]; and any nonparty with physical custody or a claim to custody or visitation [NAME, ADDRESS, OR NONE]. Identify any prior issuing court and each Parent's present residence, subject to the confidentiality rule below. Each party must provide the information required by § 76-h(1), if reasonably ascertainable, under oath in the party's first pleading or an attached affidavit; signing this agreement does not replace that filing. If disclosure of identifying information would unreasonably endanger a party or child, or a protective order applies, seek the protection in § 76-h(5) before filing an address. The Parents do not claim that their agreement alone gives a New York court jurisdiction.

2. Major decisions and information

If joint legal custody is selected, the Parents will consult before major decisions about education, nonemergency health care, religion, and significant activities. A proposal will be sent by [EMAIL / CO-PARENTING APP / OTHER] with relevant information; the other Parent will respond within [NUMBER] days when practicable. If they disagree, they will ☐ confer directly ☐ use a mutually selected mediator, if safe and available ☐ seek a court decision. Neither Parent must postpone urgent court relief for a private process.

If sole legal custody is selected, the selected Parent makes major decisions subject to the court's order. The other Parent will receive this information and notice: [DETAILS].

Either Parent may make routine decisions while the child is in that Parent's care, subject to the custody order. For an immediate health or safety need, the caring Parent may act and will notify the other Parent as soon as practicable. The Parents will share school, health, and activity notices by [METHOD] within [TIME], subject to any protective order.

3. Regular parenting schedule

Effective starting date: [__/__/____]. Select one pattern and complete every applicable exchange time:

☐ Alternating weeks. Parent A's first week begins [DAY, DATE, TIME] and ends [DAY, TIME]; Parent B's next week uses the same start and end times, and the weeks continue alternating.

☐ Primary residence with [PARENT]. The other Parent has [FIRST / SECOND / THIRD / ALTERNATING] weekends from [DAY, TIME] to [DAY, TIME] and midweek time [DAY, START, END].

☐ Custom schedule:

Exchange protocol: [PLACE, PICKUP PERSON, TRANSPORT RESPONSIBILITY, HANDOFF METHOD]. If school is closed, the exchange will occur at [PLACE AND TIME]. A Parent expecting a substantial delay will contact the other Parent by [METHOD]. Make-up time for a missed period will be [AGREED METHOD], subject to the court's order.

Optional first offer of care: ☐ Not selected ☐ If a Parent needs alternate care for more than [NUMBER] consecutive hours during that Parent's scheduled time, offer that period to the other Parent by [METHOD] and allow [NUMBER] hours to respond. Exceptions and safety conditions: [DETAILS].

4. Holidays, breaks, and vacations

The listed holiday schedule controls over the regular schedule for its stated period. At the end of a holiday, the regular rotation ☐ resumes where the calendar places it ☐ restarts with [PARENT] on [DATE].

Each Parent may take [NUMBER] vacation days during [PERIOD]. Dates will be proposed by [DATE] using [METHOD]. Conflicting requests are resolved by [PRIORITY RULE]. The vacation schedule ☐ overrides ☐ does not override the listed holidays.

5. Contact, travel, and safety

Parent-child calls or video contact while apart: [DAYS, TIME WINDOW, DURATION, METHOD], subject to the child's needs and any court protection term.

Travel: The Parent traveling with the child will give [NUMBER] days' notice with destination, dates, transportation, and an emergency contact. Passport custody and any consent to international travel: [DETAILS]. This section does not permit a move that requires an order or conflicts with an existing one.

Safety conditions proposed for court review: ☐ None ☐ Supervised time [SUPERVISOR, LOCATION, HOURS] ☐ Protected exchange [LOCATION AND METHOD] ☐ Confidential contact information [DETAILS] ☐ Other [DETAILS]. Any existing protective order controls over inconsistent terms here.

6. Residence changes and disputes

A Parent proposing a change of the child's primary residence that affects the ordered schedule will give the other Parent written notice at [ADDRESS OR METHOD] at least [NUMBER] days before the proposed move, unless an emergency or court order requires another course. The notice will include the proposed new residence, timing, reason, transportation, and revised schedule. This is the Parents' proposed notice term, not a statement of a statewide statutory deadline.

If they cannot agree, either Parent may ask the court with jurisdiction to decide. Neither a notice nor a private agreement alone changes an existing custody order. A New York court's continuing jurisdiction depends on N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law § 76-a and the case facts.

Temporary schedule changes: The Parents may record a specific short-term swap in writing, stating its start and end dates. A lasting change will be submitted for court approval. A Parent may seek immediate relief when the child's safety or an unauthorized move is at issue.

7. Support and child expenses

☐ Existing support order dated [__/__/____], case [NUMBER], remains in effect. ☐ A separate proposed support order is attached. ☐ Support will be decided by the court. This custody agreement sets no child support or child-expense allocation. Any proposed support terms, including uninsured health costs, childcare, school expenses, and applicable statutory recitals, belong in a separately reviewed support agreement or order. This agreement does not privately waive or change court-ordered child support.

8. Signatures and proposed order

The Parents have reviewed the completed selections, schedules, and attachments. They sign voluntarily and ask the court to enter the custody and parenting terms it approves. Attachments: [IDENTIFY SCHEDULES AND CONTROLLING ORDERS].

PROPOSED COURT ORDER

Having reviewed the Parents' agreement and the children's best interests, the Court ☐ approves and incorporates the selected custody and parenting terms as an order ☐ approves them subject to these modifications, which control over inconsistent terms above: [DETAILS] ☐ declines approval. Any current protection or support order remains in effect except as expressly changed by a valid order.

Ordered legal custody: [DETAILS] Ordered physical custody and schedule: [DETAILS OR INCORPORATED SECTION]. Additional safety or exchange terms: [DETAILS].

Date: [__/__/____] Judge: [SIGNATURE]