Nothing on this page is worth anything if you don’t know who wrote it. So that comes first.
Two states. Three daughters. One case that taught me every provision in this library — each one written because something had already gone wrong.
Who built this
I built the document I wish someone had handed me.
I'm not a lawyer and this isn't a law firm. I'm a father who went through a Florida dissolution, a move to Texas, and eight years of motions, rulings and modifications — and who learned, far later than I should have, that almost everything that could go wrong went wrong on paper first.
My plan said "reasonable telephone contact." That turned into calls on speakerphone with someone narrating in the background. It said holidays "shall alternate." That turned into an argument every December about whether the break started when school let out or three days later. It said "I could attend extracurricular activities." That turned into a fight over whether my new wife could sit in the stands.
None of that was a legal problem. Every bit of it was a drafting problem — and each one was fixable with language I didn't know existed at the moment I signed.
So I rewrote it. Clause by clause, over years, until the plan governing my daughters closed every gap the first one left open. The parenting plan library on this site is that document taken apart and made usable for any father in any state — plus the state law, the child support calculators, and the financial fact check tools I had to piece together myself.
It was written by a father, for fathers, and I make no apology for that. But one rule must be central to everything: every clause has to be defensible for what is in the best interest of the children. Not as a slogan — as the test each one has to pass. A clause that fails this will lose in front of a judge, and it should. That’s the whole reason all of this got written.
What the eight years actually cost.
One case · two statesAll of that stress, confusion and expense turned into experience and advocacy — and, most important of all, into more quality hours, days, nights and experiences with my daughters.
Why we're different
Everyone else in this space sells you the phone call or the app.
The category has two shapes. Law firm content sites, where every path ends at a retainer. And co-parenting apps, which assume the fight is already settled and just help you log it.
| Law firm sites | Co-parenting apps | The Dads Standard | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What they actually sell | A consultation, then $300/hour | A subscription to log what already happened | The words that go in the document |
| When they help | If you can afford it | After the plan is signed | While it can still be changed |
| Who it's built for | Whoever pays the retainer | Deliberately gender-neutral | Fathers, openly |
| State law | Marketing pages per state | Barely mentioned | Statutes, thresholds and verified misconceptions |
| Financial analysis | Refer you to a forensic CPA at $5,000+ | Expense splitting only | A document-cited reconciliation, in a tier that also carries the whole library |
| Who's behind it | Countless attorneys and a marketing team | A venture-backed product org | One father who lived it, named on the page |
Where to go from here
Start where I wish I had started — for nothing.
Four things on the next page cost nothing. No account needed:• Twelve questions about the order you already have• The financial affidavit, explained line by line• A support estimate for any of the 51 jurisdictions• Your state’s checklistNone of it asks for a card, and none of it emails the other household.Open the free tools →
Follow along
One name, everywhere.
Same handle on every platform, so you never have to guess which account is the real one. What gets posted is the same thing this site is: what the law actually says, and what it is worth in nights.