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Joint Custody Schedules (2-2-5-5 and 3-4-4-3)

Parents who want to make a joint custody arrangement work have to come up with a good schedule for their children. There are a number of options you can choose if you want each parent to have equal time with the kids. The mother and father can alternate weeks of custody or they can alternate every two weeks.

If that seems too long without seeing the child, you may want to look into a 2-2-5-5 or a 3-4-4-3 custody schedule. The timeshare represented for each schedule does not include holidays, vacations or other special events you may add to your calendar which would change the percentages.

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2-2-5-5 custody schedule

A 2-2-5-5 arrangement means that one parent gets two days with the children, the other parent gets the next two days with the children, then the first parent gets five days with the children, and the other parent gets the next five days with the children. This is a two week repeating cycle. It looks like this in the calendar:

You can see in the calendar that the parents get equal time with the kids and it is pretty regular so you can establish a nice routine. With this arrangement, one parent has 50.1% of the timeshare while the other parent has 49.9%.

3-4-4-3 custody schedule

The 3-4-4-3 schedule allots 3 days with the child to the first parent, then 4 days to the other parent. Then, custody goes back to the first parent who gets 4 days, before the other parent closes out the cycle with 3 days. This cycle repeats every two weeks. It looks like this in the calendar:

One parent gets 50.3% of the timeshare while the other parent gets 49.7%.

The easiest way to find the right schedule

It's worthwhile for parents to investigate several different options when choosing a custody schedule.

Custody X Change makes it easy to view a number of schedules, compare parenting time percentages and adjust your schedule to add time when necessary. It's a helpful tool for any parent looking to find the schedule that will work best for their situation.

Using Custody X Change is the simplest way to find a schedule that will work for your situation.

Visualize your schedule. Get a written parenting plan. Calculate your parenting time.

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Explore examples of common schedules

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Examples:

Schedules

Long distance schedules

Third party schedules

Holidays

Summer break

Parenting provisions

Scheduling:

How to make a schedule

Factors to consider

Parenting plans:

Making a parenting plan

Changing your plan

Interstate, long distance

Temporary plans

Guides by location:

Parenting plans

Scheduling guidelines

Child support calculators

Age guidelines:

Birth to 18 months

18 months to 3 years

3 to 5 years

5 to 13 years

13 to 18 years

Terminology:

Joint physical custody

Sole physical custody

Joint legal custody

Sole legal custody

Product features:

Software overview

Printable calendars

Parenting plan templates

Journal what happens

Expense sharing

Parenting time tracking

Calculate time & overnights

Ways to use:

Succeed by negotiating

Prepare for mediation

Get ready for court

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