Successful Visitation Schedules
You can create your own custody and visitation schedule (on your own or with the other parent) or you can work with an attorney or legal professional and have them create it.
If you don't want to pay the high cost of an attorney, and want to easily make your own schedule, you can use the Custody X Change software.
Custody X Change is software that creates custody schedules and parenting plans. You make each part of your schedule, and then you can print your calendar and plan. Use the free download and see how it can help you.
You can use Custody X Change to:
- Explore options for your visitation schedule
- Negotiate a schedule and agreement with the other parent
- Show your attorney schedules that you like
- Prepare sample schedules and plans for mediation
- Make a schedule and plan to present in court
- Track your schedule once it is in place
The most successful visitation schedules are the ones created and agreed on by the parents.
You are your child’s parents. You are going to be the ones following the schedule. It is only logical that you are the people who should create it.
Working together to create your child visitation schedule may be challenging, especially under the circumstances. It is crucial that you try to put your personal feelings aside and work together for the sake of your child.
If you are unable to reach an agreement on your own, the child visitation schedule will be created for you by the court. This may result in a schedule that doesn’t quite meet your child’s needs. You may be unhappy with the schedule or find it is inconvenient. Creating your own schedule is the only way to ensure you retain control of your child’s visitation schedule.
When parents divorce, they each have their own ideas about how much time they each want with their children.
It would be great if you were both on the same page but this is not usually the case. Each of you will have to make compromises in order to reach an agreement. This may be difficult since it is likely that you may have a hard time being in the same room together.
A good way to negotiate a visitation schedule is to approach it in a professional manner and try to work with documents instead of face to face meetings.
You can use Custody X Change to create a proposed visitation schedule. You can even print out a visitation calendar and time-share percentage reports so you will have an accurate visual aid to help you get the schedule you want.
After you create the schedule, you can provide the other parent with a copy of it and ask for input. You should consider the other parent’s requests and suggestions. You can easily edit the schedule when you use the Custody X Change software. You can use Custody X Change to make the changes or modify it to offer a suggested compromise.
You can keep working with and exchanging the documents until you reach an agreement or have exhausted the process.
When parents are unable to reach an agreement on some or all of the aspects of their custody case, they should attend mediation.
Some jurisdictions require parents to attend mediation prior to the conclusion of their custody matter or mediation may be optional. You should check with your local court if you are unsure of which scenario applies to you.
Mediation is a place to work out an agreement but there is not enough time to create one from scratch if you want a successful visitation schedule and custody plan.
You should always prepare for mediation by creating a proposed visitation schedule beforehand. That way more time can be spent focusing on working out your differences rather than trying to factor in work schedules, availability and the other logistics.
If you used Custody X Change to try to negotiate an agreement before hand, you can show the mediator the items you were able to agree on and which parts you still need help with.
Even if you were unable work anything out prior to your mediation session, you can use Custody X Change to create a proposed schedule and custody agreement to present to the mediator and the other parent. Your plan will be well organized and easy to read so it will be easier to get your point across.
You should be prepared to have valid and convincing reasons for all you custody requests.
When deciding on how much time your child is going to spend with each of you, the main concern should be the best interests of your child. Unfortunately, some parents are more concerned with how the visitation schedule will affect child support.
The methods used to calculate child support payments vary from state to state. One of the factors most courts consider when determining the amount of child support payments is how much time the child spends with each parent.
This can become a source of contention between some parents in child custody cases. A parent may fight to get as much time with a child as possible in order to either collect more child support or to pay less child support. They care more about money than what is best for their child.
One of the many things a court considers in a family law case is the sincerity of the requests of the parents. A judge will be able to discern whether or not a visitation request is made out of selfishness or selflessness. The best interest of a child is the judge’s main concern in custody cases.
You should always think about what is best for your child when creating your visitation schedule. Child support is an entirely different matter and should not even be considered as you create your visitation schedule.
Children benefit from spending plenty of quality time with both parents. Successful child visitation schedules are created without concern for financial matters. Leave the child support for the judge to decide.
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