Every Third Weekend: Custody & Visitation Schedules
In the every-third-weekend schedule, the child lives with one parent about 85% of the time and visits the other parent every third weekend. The visit does not always fall on the third weekend of a calendar month.
You can customize this with Custody X Change.
Every-third-weekend schedule examples
You can customize the every-third-weekend schedule so it works better for you. Here are some changes you can make.
Change the weekend times
Change the times of the weekend visit. Here the weekend starts at 10 a.m. Friday and goes to noon Monday.
You can customize this with Custody X Change.
Change the weekend days
Shift the days of the weekend visit. Here the weekend visit starts at 12 p.m. Thursday and ends at 5 p.m. Sunday.
You can customize this with Custody X Change.
Add midweek visits
Add visits during the week. Here there's a midweek visit on Wednesday afternoons.
You can customize this with Custody X Change.
Add overnight visits
Add overnight visits during the week. Here, when the parent doesn't have the weekend with the child, they have a Thursday overnight visit. (The weekend also starts on Thursday for consistency.)
You can customize this with Custody X Change.
Use third-party time
Include third-party time when the child isn't with either parent. Here is a schedule that shows when the child is in school. Showing third-party time will probably change the timeshare percentages of the parents slightly.
You can customize this with Custody X Change.
Calculate your time
You can use a visitation timeshare calculator as you look at options for your schedule. This allows you to explore different schedules and see the amount of time parents get with each one.
Pros and cons of an every-third-weekend schedule
Pros:
- This schedule works well for parents who live far away from each other.
- This schedule can work for a child who needs one main home and a lot of consistency.
- This schedule does not require parents to remember many exchanges.
- This schedule can work for high-conflict situations.
Cons:
- One parent has substantially more time with the child, which can cause fighting about the schedule.
- The child goes a long time between visits with the parent who has every third weekend.
- The parent who only has weekend time doesn't participate in the child's weekday routine.
- It can be difficult to remember which weekend goes to which parent (unless you use a digital custody calendar).
- This schedule can conflict with weekend activities, like the child's sporting events.
Other co-parenting schedules to consider
Every-third-week schedule: This also follows a three-week cycle but gives parents a 70/30 time split.
You can customize this with Custody X Change.
Second-fourth-and-fifth weekends schedule: This gives one parent two to three weekends a month, and it's easier to keep track of than the every-third-weekend schedule.
You can customize this with Custody X Change.
Alternating-weekends schedule: Giving the noncustodial parent every other weekend is a classic option.
You can customize this with Custody X Change.
The easiest way to make an every-third-weekend schedule
There's a lot to think about when you build a parenting time schedule. You'll want it to address holidays and school breaks, give the right amount of time to each parent, and work for years to come.
The Custody X Change app makes it easy. Just follow the steps to make a custody schedule.
On Step 2, choose "custom repeating rate." Set your schedule to repeat every three weeks.
On Step 3, give the weekend parent their time for one visit. The app will automatically give the remaining days in the three-week cycle to the other parent.
You can customize this with Custody X Change.
To make a custody schedule quickly and affordably, turn to Custody X Change. You'll get a written schedule and a visual calendar that meet your family's needs, as well as court standards.