A long-distance parenting plan is a parenting plan designed for families where the parents live at a significant distance from each other making the standard weekly alternating schedule impractical.

Long-distance plans typically concentrate parenting time into blocks such as extended school breaks, summers, and holidays rather than trying to replicate weekly contact across a long distance. The specific block schedule depends on the child's age, school calendar, the distance involved, and the practical realities of travel.

A long-distance plan must address travel costs who pays, how costs are shared, and what qualifies as a reimbursable expense in specific detail. It must also address how virtual contact supplements the in-person schedule and what happens if travel is disrupted. Care must be taken not to award all the free vacation time to the distant parent. That could unfairly make one parent take care of all the upkeep and maintenance time with the child and the other parent gets all the “fun” time, all the out of school time. It is often helpful for the distance parent to exercise time in the child’s city and not make them do all the traveling.