Nebraska Parent-Time Schedules (Custody and Visitation)

Nebraska wants both parents to have ongoing contact with their child when possible. A parenting time schedule supports your child by making it clear when you and your co-parent will spend time with them.

How you get a parenting time schedule

Open a Nebraska court case for divorce or child custody. At an early stage, you'll be expected to attend a parenting class and go to mediation. The result of the court case will be a custody arrangement and usually a parenting time schedule too. A judge can consider your arguments and decide on a schedule for you. When a court orders a schedule, you both have to follow it.

The best approach (if it's possible for you) is to work together with your co-parent to draft a schedule that will support your child and be workable for you too. When parents propose a schedule together, the court is likely to approve it.

Parents have the right to return to court to seek custody and parenting time even if a court decided against them in the past. It's called seeking a modification.

How to choose the right schedule for your family

Consider age-appropriate schedules for your child. Younger kids benefit from seeing both parents frequently, while older kids can stay longer in one place. Siblings can be on different custody schedules (especially if they have a large age gap), but they'll benefit from maintaining their relationships with each other.

Keep in mind your work and school schedules, your travel time to exchange your child, and any relevant preferences your child may have.

Be aware that if you have close to equal time with your co-parent, your number of overnights with your child will affect your child support amount.

Equal parenting time schedules

Nebraska courts often order equal parenting time schedules for divorcing or separated parents, but this is up to the judge, who may have their own preferences.

There are different ways to achieve equal time.

In the 2-2-3 schedule, your child spends two days with you, two days with the other parent, then returns to you for three days. The next week, the order switches.

You can customize this with Custody X Change.

A teenager might do well with an alternating weeks schedule in which they live with you for one week, then with the other parent for the next. The "off" parent could have a midweek visit for a few hours.

You can customize this with Custody X Change.

Unequal parenting time schedules

Sometimes equal time just isn't possible.

That may be because one parent lives far from the child's school. In that case, one solution could be for the child to stay with one parent during the school week and see the other on weekends.

In the every weekend schedule, the weekend parent has about 30 percent of parenting time.

You can customize this with Custody X Change.

In the every extended weekend schedule, the weekend parent has about 40 percent of parenting time.

You can customize this with Custody X Change.

You may hear of a schedule called "Wilson visitation." It's named after an old court case in Nebraska. This just means the weekend parent gets Friday evening to Sunday evening every other weekend, and the parents alternate holidays.

Another possibility is that one parent has been absent or minimally involved but wants to show up more for the child in the future. A step-up plan may be appropriate so they can gradually increase their involvement.

How to write a schedule

You'll need a regular schedule, plus you'll need to know what you'll do during school breaks (if different), holidays and special occasions like birthdays. You'll also need to consider your rules for when one parent can take the child away on vacation.

You can customize this with Custody X Change.

You may want to address time your child regularly spends with other caregivers (like grandparents or daycare providers).

You can customize this with Custody X Change.

The Custody X Change online app can help you create a visual schedule that's automatically put into words for court. You can print it, and you can also keep it in the app so you can get notifications when it's time for an exchange. The app automatically calculates your number of overnights too to help you present your child support case.

When you don't receive a schedule

Some parents prefer not to propose a visitation schedule because they work together amicably and feel confident they can be flexible with each other. A judge may allow them to go without a schedule.

Another situation in which a schedule won't be ordered is when one parent is absent and doesn't participate in the court case at all. That leads to a default judgment. The court is likely to give sole legal custody and sole physical custody to the parent who's caring for the child. The other parent isn't entitled to visit the child on any particular day, but they're still a legal parent.

Minimum parenting time guidelines — for foster care only

Nebraska doesn't have standard parenting time guidelines for child custody cases. Don't be confused if you come across the Guidelines for Minimum Hours for Parenting Time (PDF), which are about foster care. They don't apply to divorces or breakups in which the child lives with one parent and the other parent wants to visit.

The easiest way to make a schedule

If you're like most parents, creating a custody and visitation schedule will feel daunting. How do you write something that meets legal requirements and doesn't leave any loose ends?

The Custody X Change app makes it easy. Either customize a schedule template, or click and drag in your custody calendar to make a schedule from scratch.

Try this with Custody X Change.

Then watch a full description appear in your custom parenting plan.

Try this with Custody X Change.

The combination of a visual and written schedule means your family will have no problem knowing who has the child when. Take advantage of Custody X Change to make your schedule as clear and thorough as can be.