What Is a Child Custody Calendar? 

A child custody calendar or timesharing schedule is a detailed plan for when the child will spend time with each parent. It helps the parents organize time-sharing and visitation when they have a child together. It can help provide clarity about the time-sharing schedule and potentially avoid conflict and confusion between the parents.

What Is Included in a Time-Sharing Schedule?

Florida child custody laws require parents to develop a parenting plan as part of custody orders. Florida courts give parents significant leeway when making child custody arrangements.

Some of the information parents might include in a Florida time-sharing schedule could include the following:

Parental Responsibility

Parental responsibility, also known as legal custody, encompasses the right to make significant decisions regarding a child’s upbringing, including their education, religious upbringing, and medical care. The plan should include which parent will have the ultimate decision-making authority if parents share parental responsibilities and disagree about them.

Time-Sharing

Time-sharing, also known as physical custody, refers to the arrangement by which a child spends time with one parent. The time the child will spend with each parent should be clearly outlined, specifying dates and times.

Holidays

The plan may have different arrangements than a standard week or month when holidays are involved. The agreement could specify when the child will spend time with the parent on holidays, school vacations, summer breaks, birthdays, and other special occasions.

Exchange Details

The parenting plan may include specific details about how the parents will exchange the children, such as meeting at one of the parents’ homes or a neutral location. The plan should also specify the exact time of the exchange.

Modifications

The plan may specify how the parents can make changes, such as minor changes in writing. Court modification generally requires a substantial, material, and unanticipated change in circumstances and that any change must be in the child’s best interests. Minor, temporary adjustments by mutual written agreement are fine but may be unenforceable without a court order.

If the parents cannot agree on a parenting plan, the court can order a plan that it determines is in the child’s best interests.

Common Time-Sharing Schedules in Florida

The time-sharing schedule your family uses can be based on what is best for your family. What works for one family might not work for you.

Some of the common time-sharing schedules in Florida that families use include the following:

Alternating Weeks

With this schedule, the child spends one week at a time with each parent. This schedule may work better for older children who can be away from either parent for longer without emotional harm.

Every Other Weekend

If one parent has primary custody, the other parent may get the child every other weekend. The non-custodial parent may also receive an additional evening or midweek visit on their off week.

2-2-5-5

Under this plan, each parent has the child for two days at a time. Then, each parent has five days. The schedule repeats. This plan provides both parents with equal time with the child.

2-2-3

This schedule involves the child spending two days with one parent, two days with the other, and then three days with the first parent for a long weekend. The following week, the schedule alternates, ensuring equal parenting time. This schedule might work better for parents of younger children.

3-4-4-3

This schedule has the child spend three days with the first parent, four days with the second parent, four days with the first parent, and then three days with the second parent. This rotation allows for a relatively equal split of time between both parents over a two-week period.

You can look online or use apps to help you create a calendar that works best for your family and manage child custody arrangements.

Contact the Orlando Child Custody Attorneys at McMichen, Cinami & Demps for Help Today

Every family is different. At McMichen, Cinami & Demps, we provide tailored legal services and time schedules for each unique family. Our Orlando child custody lawyers can help you create or modify a child custody calendar. Contact us today for a free consultation regarding your specific situation.

McMichen, Cinami & Demps – Orlando Office
1500 E Concord St
Orlando, FL 32803