Maine Visitation Schedule

Maine visitation schedules are so easy to
setup with the Custody X Change software!

Parents need to include a child visitation schedule in their custody agreement or parenting plan. A visitation schedule provides an outline for how parents will continue to care and provide for their children and also how they will continue to spend time with the children and develop relationships with them. A mother and father should take the necessary time and effort to develop a visitation schedule that meets their children's needs in all aspects of life. Here is some information to help Maine parents accomplish that task.

Creating a Child Visitation Schedule

The foundation of the child visitation schedule is the repeating cycle of custody. Parents must decide the daily schedule of where the child will live and when the child will be with each parent.

• In a sole physical custody situation, one parent has custody and the other parent has visitation.
• Some common repeating cycles for sole custody are custodial parents have the children during the week, and the non-custodial parent has them on the weekends; the non-custodial parent has the children alternating weekends; the non-custodial parent has the children alternating weekends and one weeknight, multiple weeknights, or overnight visit during the week.
• In a joint physical custody situation, the parents usually divide the time more evenly (although it doesn't have to be exactly equal).
• Some common joint visitation schedules include alternating weeks of custody; a 3/3/4/4 custody schedule; a 2/2/5/5 custody schedule; splitting the weeks in half; etc. Parents should make a custom visitation schedule that works the best for the children.

Once the repeating cycle has been created and applied to the calendar, the parents should decide on the holiday schedule.

• Parents can include national, school, and religious holidays along with special family days they normally celebrate.
• The mother and father should make a list of the holidays that will be in the schedule and divide them between the parents.
• Each parent should have equal holiday time with the children. This means that the mother and father each have the same number of bigger holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc) and a similar amount of total holiday time.
• For the holiday schedule, the parents need to decide how long the holidays last (for example, does Labor day mean just the day or the whole weekend?) and if they want to share any of the days.

Vacation time and special events can also be added to the child visitation schedule.

• A specified vacation is when the mother and father schedule the exact dates that each parent can take the children on vacation.
• An unspecified vacation is when the parents put a clause in the custody agreement that says the parents may take the children for up to a certain number of days during the year.
• Special events are times when the normal custody schedule changes. This could be a child's extra curricular or social events during the year.

Along with the actual schedule, parents can also include provisions in their custody agreement or parenting plan that impact the schedule.

• Provisions are rules that the parents agree to follow to help the schedule and custody agreement run more smoothly.
• Some example provisions include: information about transportation to and from visitation, how the parents will handle changes to the schedule, how the parents will handle child care issues, etc.
• The more detailed the provisions are about the schedule, the better it will work for the parents.

Information for Maine Child Visitation Schedules

• Parents in Maine must include a visitation schedule in their parenting plan or custody agreement.
• The mother and father can work together to create a shared plan and visitation schedule to submit to the court, or each parent can make an individual plan to present to the judge.
• If the parents go to court, the judge determines the final schedule and parenting plan based on the best interest of the child.
• When deciding what schedule is in the child's best interest, the judge will look at the child's age, the relationship between the child and each parent, the relationship between the child and other people who affect the child's welfare, the preference of the child, the current living arrangements of the child, the stability of the proposed schedule, how easily the child adjusts to new situations, the capacity of the parents to provide for the child, how easily the parents cooperate, and any other factor that influences the physical and physiological well-being of the child.
• When making a schedule and parenting plan, parents should also think about these factors and decide how their plan provides for the needs of the child.
• Once a judge has accepted a visitation schedule, it becomes a legal document and the parents must follow it.

How Custody X Change can Help

Custody X Change is software that allows parents to create a complete parenting plan or custody agreement. The visitation schedule is the bulk of an agreement, and the program makes it easy for parents to set up the perfect child visitation schedule.

• Follow the steps in the program and go through the process of creating the basic, repeating cycle, making the holiday schedule, adding in vacation time, and including special events.
• Add provisions that enhance the visitation schedule, like rules about how exchanges for visitation will be handled, how the parents will resolve disputes, how the parents will handle child care, etc..
• View the exact time-share percentage that each parent has with the children while setting up the schedule to make sure it is fair.
• Easily make changes to the calendar and add special events when the custody changes.
• Print the documents for the visitation schedule and custody agreement. The documents include a calendar of the schedule, a written report of the schedule, a timeshare percentage report, and your included provisions.
• Track the visitation schedule. Enter in the actual time of visitation, write notes about what happens during visitation, and print a report that shows the difference between scheduled and actual parenting time.
• Export the calendar and agreement information to Word, PDF, and Excel.
• Sync the visitation schedule to your Blackberry, iPhone, Palm/PDA, Outlook, Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar, Windows Live, etc.

Custody X Change Helps Parents in Maine

• Make a visitation schedule and custody agreement that is in the child's best interest and that meets the child's needs for love, protection, guidance, diet, medical care, etc.
• Create the right visitation schedule by looking at different options and customizing the schedule to fit your needs.
• Include helpful provisions about legal custody, making decisions, making future changes to the agreement, working out disputes, transportation for visitation, etc.
• Ease the tension when working with the other parent to create a joint custody agreement by using the program to objectively look at the issues.
• Prepare example schedules and agreements for mediation and easily incorporate suggested changes.
• Present an agreement to a judge and use the professional documents to explain how it benefits the child.
• Save money in legal fees by doing the work of making your agreement yourself.
• Pay or receive an accurate amount of child support by using the timeshare calculation when figuring out your child support.
• Track the actual amount of time that each parent has with the child to ensure that the agreement is followed.
• Keep a custody journal about visitation and other events and issues.
• Modify the agreement at any time and print out copies of the new calendar and plan.
• Have greater overall satisfaction in your agreement and schedule because you personalized it to your child and your situation.

You can get a free thirty day trial of Custody X Change by entering your name and email at the top of the page. Join the others in Maine who have found the easy way to make the best child visitation schedule.

The top twelve cities in Maine (by population, US Census Bureau, 2008) are: Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, South Portland, Auburn, Brunswick, Biddeford, Sanford, Augusta, Saco, Westbrook, Waterville.

Additional state visitation schedule articles you might want to consider:

• Arizona Child Visitation Schedule
• California Child Visitation Schedule
• Florida Child Visitation Schedule
• Georgia Child Visitation Schedule
• Illinois Child Visitation Schedule
• Massachusetts Child Visitation Schedule
• Michigan Child Visitation Schedule
• New Jersey Child Visitation Schedule
• New York Child Visitation Schedule
• North Carolina Child Visitation Schedule
• Ohio Child Visitation Schedule
• Pennsylvania Child Visitation Schedule
• Texas Child Visitation Schedule
• Virginia Child Visitation Schedule
• Washington Child Visitation Schedule

Two related articles (not state-specific): Child Visitation and Child Visitation Schedule.

Navigation: Child Custody » Maine » Maine Child Visitation Schedule