Founder
Determining a shared custody schedule between you and your co-parent can be a real feat of mental and logistical gymnastics. We all have our own lives, our own schedules, and schedules for our children as well. Managing all of this between two people who are trying to co-parent can be a lot. In reaching a time-sharing schedule with your co-parent, it is a good idea to first consider your options. There are a number of time-sharing formulas that people with shared custody opt for depending on their circumstances. Florida custody guidelines dictate that schedules should minimize disruptions to the child’s life as well as ensuring the security and the stability of the child’s life. It should shield the child from conflict, anticipate changes in circumstances, and maximize the relationships between the child and both parents. Even with all of these requirements, time-sharing schedules for those sharing custody can greatly vary.
Common Shared Custody Arrangements
Parenting schedules can be widely varied. There are any number of combinations that will work for some families, but not others. Go with what best suits your family and your family’s particular needs. That being said, there are a few more common shared custody arrangements that you may want to consider along the way. For instance, those with equal time-sharing schedules, so a 50/50 split in time-sharing, may opt to have alternating weeks. In this arrangement, the child spends seven days with one parent, then seven days with the other parent, and so forth and so on. There is also the 3-4-4-3 schedule where the child spends three days with one parent, four days with the other parent, four days with the first parent, and then three days with the other. This also works in the 2-2-5-5 format.
In many cases, however, a completely even 50-50 split in time-sharing is just not feasible for one reason or another. In these shared custody arrangements, one parent will have a majority of the time with the child and the other will have the minority of the time with the child. The majority-minority time-sharing split can be narrow or wide. Again, this will depend on what is best for the child and your family. Sometimes, it will be a 60/40 time sharing split. In this case, the child may spend a long weekend, Friday to Monday, with one parent and the rest of the week with the other. If it is just a regular two-day weekend with one parent and the rest of the week with the other parent, it is a 70/30 time sharing split.
In addition to the day-to-day time sharing schedule, co-parents will also need to address summers, holidays, and other special occasions in their parenting plan. Courts require that a special, separate summer break schedule be established in the parenting plan. There will also need to be a plan for how holidays and special occasions will be divided between the co-parents.
Florida Family Law Attorneys
Need help creating a time-sharing schedule that works for you and your family? Talk to the team at Bernal-Mora & Nickolaou for assistance. Contact us today.
