Child Custody & Visitation Blog

In this last post about parenting time schedules, we’ll look at some common shared parenting time schedules. Here are three more to think about.

3-3-4-4 Schedule

In this schedule, the first parent has the children for 3 days, the second parent has the children for 3 days, the first parent has the children for 4 days and the second parent then has the children for 4 days. It basically splits the week in half.

2-2-5-5 Schedule

This is a similar schedule to the one above, except the rotation is 2-2-5-5. So, the first parent has the children 2 days, the second parent has the children 2 days, the first parent has the children 5 days, and the second parent has the children 5 days. The schedule can be started any day of the week so the parents have different days.

Ackerman Custody Schedule

In this schedule, the parents set up two different parenting time schedules in the year. They do this so that the parents still have about equal time with the children, but the children can have a more stable home life. For example, the parents will set up a schedule for the children during the school year where they live primarily with one parent. Then they have a summer and winter break schedule where the children live primarily with the other parent. These schedules can be set up using any of the schedules we’ve already shown.

In continuing to look at examples of parenting time schedules for your parenting agreement, we’re going to look at some common schedules where the parents have more equal time with the children.

Alternating Weeks

In this schedule, the parents simply alternate weeks with the children. You can choose what day to switch, and you can also alternate every two weeks.

Alternating Weeks with Mid-Week Visits

This schedule is the same as above, but each parent has a visit sometime during the week. The visit can be an overnight visit (shown) or an evening visit. The parents can also schedule multiple visits.

2-2-3 Parenting Time Schedule

In this schedule, one parent has the children for 2 days, the other parent then has the child for 2 days, and then the child goes back to the first parent for 3 days. The schedule keeps rotating, and the child goes to the second parent for 2 days, the first parent for 2 days, and the second parent for 3 days.

In the final post in this series, we’ll take a look at some other common joint custody schedules.

Let’s look at some more sample parenting time schedules. This post will continue looking at schedules where the child lives primarily with one parent and visits the other parent. These schedules are all variations on the basic weekend schedule (where the child lives with one parent during the week and visits the other parent on weekends, alternating weekends, and during the evenings and on weekends).

Alternating Extended Weekends

In this schedule, the parent has visitation alternating weekends, but the weekends are extended. This calendar shows the extension on a Monday, but the extended weekend could also start on Thursday night or Friday morning.

Alternating Extended Weekends with an Overnight or Evening Visit

This schedule is the same as above, except the other parent also has a visit sometime during the week. The visit can be an evening visit for a few hours, or an overnight visit (shown). Parents can also schedule multiple visits.

1st, 3rd, and 5th Weekends

One parent has the children all the time except on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends. There are several variations to this schedule as well. The visitation can occur on the 2nd, 4th, and 5th weekend or the parents can alternate the 5th weekend. Mid-week visits can also be added.

In the next post, we’ll look at parenting time schedules where the parents have almost equal time with the children.

Setting up a parenting time schedule is an enormous task for divorced and separated parents. Many times, parents aren’t even sure how to begin making the schedule. The most frequent question asked is if there are any common example parenting time schedules. To help with this answer, we’re going to provide a series of posts that show some common schedules. In this first post, we’ll start by looking at some parenting time schedules where the child lives primarily with one parent and visits the other parent (these are also called sole custody schedules).

Every Weekend

In this parenting time schedule, the child lives with one parent during the week and has visitation with the other parent every weekend.

Alternating Weekends

The child lives with one parent during the week and on alternating weekends. The other parent has visitation on alternating weekends.

Alternating Weekends with an Evening Visit

The child lives with one parent during the week and alternating weekends. The other parent has the child on the other weekends and for one evening visit during the week. Parents can have the visit on any evening, and they can also have visits on multiple evenings during the week.

Alternating Weekends with a Weekly Overnight Visit

This parenting time schedule is similar to the one above, except that instead of an evening visit, it is an overnight visit. Again, parents can choose what day of the week to have the overnight and there can be multiple overnight visits. Or parents can have an evening visit and an overnight visit during the week.

In the next post, we’ll look at some more sole custody schedules with some variations on weekend time.