DR 26: Parenting-Time Surgery, Not Authority Rebuild
DR 26 is Ohio's lane for changing parenting time after an order exists. Think calendar mechanics: who has which overnights, how exchanges work, how holidays split. If your brief keeps sliding into who should decide surgery or school placement, you are borrowing weight from DR 27. Read your current order for the lines that already define time; weak motions ignore clauses that are sitting in the file.
For the Ohio-wide parenting time modification overview (how courts talk about the issue, not just the DR 26 PDF), start here:
Ohio parenting time modification (overview)| DR 26 posture | DR 27 posture |
|---|---|
| The week broke: distance, school schedule, handoffs, holiday grid. | Decision authority, legal custody labels, or major medical/school control must move. |
| Relief centers on a new calendar someone could administer. | Relief centers on new rights language and responsibility split. |
Quote time clauses
Pull the paragraphs that define the block you want to change.
Date the friction
Neutral anchors: school notices, maps, care schedules.
Propose the grid
A week map, not a speech about fairness.
Related guides
State guides (overview)
General support (not Ohio-specific)
Official sources
- Ohio Supreme Court DR 26 (PDF): https://supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/JCS/CFC/DRForms/Form26.pdf
- Ohio standardized forms (parenting time): https://supremecourt.ohio.gov/courts/services-to-courts/children-families/dom-rel-juvenile-forms/parenting-time/
DR 26 questions
When is DR 26 the honest lane in Ohio?
When the fight is mostly the calendar: pickups, overnights, holidays, travel windows, or commute math after life moved. You can describe the problem as a schedule that no longer fits real life.
What order language do parents overlook before choosing DR 26?
How parenting time is defined, make-up rules, holiday priority, and transportation lines. If your motion ignores clauses already in the order, you look unprepared.
When am I probably smuggling DR 27 into DR 26?
When you need to redo legal custody, medical or school authority, or broad decision control. That is bigger than parenting-time mechanics.
Last reviewed: 2026-06-03
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