1. Create the best schedule
for you and your kids.

2. Document your actual
parenting time.

3. Include important clauses
in your parenting plan.

4. End misunderstandings
with a visual calendar.

5. Calculate time and
overnight percentages.

6. Prepare for negotiation,
mediation and court.

7. Save money on legal
fees and court costs.

"I used Custody X Change during our negotiations for Summer and Holiday visitation.

"The software was very easy to use and provided useful calculations from the agreed schedule.

"That spared us from having to do the tedious task of counting days on a calendar.

"I would recommend this product to any parent who has to establish a custody schedule with another parent."

"I got the Custody X Change software so I could give my clients a printed Calendar.

"Also, in New Mexico, there can be a significant change in child support from 'Schedule A,' where one parent has responsibility for less than 35 percent of the time, and 'Schedule B,' where each party has responsibility for more than 35 percent of the time.

"On borderline cases, it is important to know the possible child support consequences of various options."

Your Child Visitation Plan

What are my child visitation rights?

You have the right to spend time with your child (unless the court orders otherwise). If you do not have custody of your children, you have the right to reasonable visitation with your child.

Reasonable visitation ultimately means whatever amount of visitation will work best for your child and your situation. Courts encourage parents to work together to create a visitation plan and schedule so that you can have reasonable visitation.

Visitation cannot be denied because you haven't paid child support. And, you should continue to pay child support even if your visitation has been denied.

Visitation rights can be taken away by the court if a parent is abusive or violent or if the parent abuses alcohol or other drugs.

What if the other parent denies me visitation?

If you have been to court and the court has approved your custody agreement and visitation schedule, you need to go back to court and show that the other parent has violated the agreement. The court will decide on the punishment for the other parent--sometimes it's a fine, sometimes you get more visitation to make up for denied visitation.

If you don't have an agreement authorized by the court, you need to go to court to have a custody agreement and visitation schedule approved. Then, if the other parent doesn't follow the schedule the court can enforce it.

How do I make my child visitation plan?

You can make your visitation plan on your own, with the other parent, at mediation, or with an attorney. You can also use Custody X Change, a software that creates custody and visitation plans and schedules. Download a free 30-day trial of Custody X Change to get started.

With Custody X Change, you can:

Create a visitation schedule for your plan
Negotiate a visitation plan with the other parent
Include information in your plan about how visitation will work
Work with your attorney to come up with a plan you like
Prepare a visitation plan for mediation or court

What should I put in my child visitation plan?

First, you need to decide where your child will live. You can have your child live with one parent and visit the other parent (a sole custody arrangement) or you can have the child live with both parents (a joint custody arrangement).

Once you've determined your child's residence, you can make your child visitation schedule. Your child visitation schedule shows when your child spends time with each parent.

Your visitation schedule should include:

The residential or everyday schedule: this is the weekday/weekend routine of where your child spends time.
The holiday schedule: this is the schedule that shows where your child will spend holidays.
Vacation time and special events: this is the schedule your child follows when not in school, when special events arise, or when the parents take the child on vacation.

Along with your schedule, your visitation plan can include:

Information about how you and the other parent will make decisions for your child
A plan for how you and the other parent will communicate about the child
A method for resolving disputes
A plan for making changes to the schedule and plan
Information about sharing and dividing expenses
Information for how transportation will be handled for visitation
Information about exchanges for visitation
The right of first refusal (this happens when a parent who is scheduled to have the children isn't able to take them--in this situation, the other parent has the first chance to take them instead of getting other childcare)
Any other information that will help your plan work

When you make your visitation plan with Custody X Change, you can:

Explore different options for your schedule until you find the right one for your child
Maximize the parenting time you have with your child
Include information about making decisions for your child
Include stipulations about visitation to make your plan work better
Easily make changes to your schedule as circumstances change
Sync your visitation schedule with your Blackberry, iPhone, Palm/PDA, Outlook, Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar, Windows Live, etc
Print multiple copies of your schedule so you and the other parent always know what's going on

What are some common child visitation arrangements?

You may want to set up visitation using a visitation timeshare calculator so you know the exact amount of time you have with your child. You can start with any of the following examples and use a calculator to adjust your schedule so you have the right time with your child.

Common visitation when your child lives with one parent and visits the other parent:

Your child has visitation every weekend
Your child has visitation on alternating weekends, 1st and 3rd weekends, 2nd and 4th weekends, or some other weekend schedule
Your child has visitation on a weekday evening or multiple evenings and on weekends or alternating weekends
Your child has visitation overnight during the week and also on weekends
You child has visitation in any combination of weekday evening and overnight visits with weekend time

Common visitation arrangements when your child lives with both parents:

Your child rotates every week or two between your home and the other parent's home
A 3/3/4/4 or 2/2/5/5 schedule where your child spends 3 or 2 days with you, then spends 3 or 2 days with the other parent, then spends 4 or 5 days with you, and then spends 4 or 5 days with the other parent
Your child spends multiple evenings and overnights in the week with both parents;
Your child lives mostly with one parent during the school year and lives mostly with the other parent during school breaks
Your child spends the first half of the week with one parent and the second half of the week with the other parent

Do I need to track my child visitation time?

You may find it helpful to track the visitation time with your child and keep a visitation journal where you write notes about your time with your child. This is especially important if the other parent has ever denied visitation to you or you've had problems with the other parent not following the visitation schedule.

Tracking the visitation time when you actually have your child and comparing it to the scheduled time can help you create a visitation schedule if you don't have one in place and it can also help you know if your current schedule is working.

Often, tracking the visitation time helps both parents follow the schedule better. This simple thing encourages parents to follow the schedule because they know that the other parent will notice if they don't.

Keeping a custody and visitation journal with notes about your parenting time gives you a record for your custody situation. This can be useful when discussing things with the other parent and can also help you in court if you want to change your visitation arrangements.

Custody X Change has a tracking and journaling feature that lets you:

Enter your actual visitation time and compare it to the scheduled visitation time
Print a report that shows the difference between scheduled and actual visitation time
Keep a custody journal and write notes about what happens during visitation
Print your visitation journal
Keep all of your tracking information in one place
Use the documents from the software to modify visitation in court or mediation

What should I consider to make a successful visitation agreement?

To create a successful parenting agreement, your child's best interest has to be the priority. To make sure that your plan is the best for your child, you should think about what type of visitation arrangement will best meet your child's needs.

Here are some factors to consider as you make your visitation plan:

The age and maturity of your child
How well your child adapts to new situations and environments
The physical, emotional, and social needs of your child
Sibling or extended family relationships that are important to your child
The capability of each parent to meet the needs of your child
The current relationship between each parent and your child
Where your child currently lives and the length of time your child has lived there
The distance between the parents' homes
Your child's school and community environment
The parents' work schedules and
The past care giving roles of each parent

As you make your plan, think about each of these factors and make your plan so your child will thrive with the new arrangements. Basically, you want your children comfortable enough with visitation so that they can still do well in school, social situations, family situations, etc.

Do grandparents have visitation rights?

Sometimes. All states have some way that grandparents can go to court and ask for visitation, but every state is different and it depends on where you live and your circumstances.

A grandparent who has been the primary caretaker of a child usually has a strong case for why visitation would be in the best interest of the child and can go to court to request visitation. Sometimes grandparent time can be included when making the custody schedule.

Grandparents who want to make sure they can see their grandchildren after a divorce should try and work with the parents. Courts almost always give parents the first right to make decisions for the child (including who the child will spend time with).

If you are a grandparent and you want to go to court for visitation, you will need to prove that visitation is in the best interest of the child. You should check your state laws and possibly consult an attorney to check out your options.

How does abuse or domestic violence affect a visitation plan?

The physical, emotional, and mental safety of your child has priority over visitation rights. If you are involved in a situation where the other parent has been abusive or violent, you first need to protect your child and yourself.

You will need to go to court and explain the situation so the court can make a ruling about the other parent and visitation. You may need to hire an attorney to help you. The court can rule different things for different situations.

Supervised visitation: Often, a court will order supervised visitation for an abusive parent. This means that a 3rd person (not the custodial parent) is with the parent during visitation. The 3rd person can be selected by the parents or appointed by the court. If the parents select someone, the court must approve them. Sometimes, visitation can occur at the 3rd person's house or area (there are centers set up for supervised visitation in some places).

Denied visitation: Sometimes the court will deny visitation to an abusive or violent parent. The court can also deny visitation until the parent attends counseling or anger management classes.

If you have been a victim of abuse, you can set things up so that you don't ever have to meet with or talk to the abusive parent. You can request that the court not reveal your information and you do not have to attend custody mediation (even when the court normally orders mediation).