In shared custody parents are required to spend equal time with the child this is to do with physical custody where the child may stay with one parent for a specific number of days, then move to stay with the other parent for the same number of days. This happens where parents enjoy 50/50 custody.
States with a 50/50 custody rule may give equal parenting time to both parents if they are fit and suitable to cater to the needs of the child, or just to promote what is in their best interests. States where you are likely to find 50/50 custody include Arizona, Virginia, West Virginia, Colorado, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Florida, Delaware, New Jersey, and Alaska among others according to Custody X Change.
Therefore, when parents have a 50/50 child custody order, the challenge now becomes setting the best schedule to suit both parents and to promote the best interests of the child. With that, we have some options that can help in preparing the best schedule depending on several factors that we are going to discuss later.
Option 1: Alternating Weeks (5-2-5-2 Option)
| Day of the week/week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Week 1 | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A | Parent B | Parent B |
| Week 2 | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B | Parent A | Parent A |
Alternating the weeks is an option for 50/50 custody and this is where the child spends the first weekday with parent A and the weekend with parent B. In the next week, the child spends a weekday with parent B and a weekend with parent A. This is repeated in cycles as long as the child custody order holds.
Option 2: Alternating Days (2-2-3-2-2-3 Option)
| Day of the week/week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Week 1 | Parent A | Parent A | Parent B | Parent B | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A |
| Week 2 | Parent B | Parent B | Parent A | Parent A | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B |
Alternating days are also an option for 50/50 custody. Here, the child spends the first 2 days with parent A, the next 2 days with parent B, and the last 3 days of the week with parent A. The cycle is repeated in the following week where the child spends the first 2 days with parent B, the next 2 days with parent A, and the last 3 days of the week with parent B.
Though the parents enjoy equal time-sharing with this option, this schedule may not be comfortable for the child especially if the child is still younger. It also works where the parents live close to each other, and where the child is not engaged in a tight school or any other routine schedule.
Option 3: Specific Number of Days
| Day of the week/week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Week 1 | Parent A | Parent A | Parent B | Parent B | Parent A | Parent A | Parent B |
| Week 2 | Parent B | Parent A | Parent A | Parent B | Parent B | Parent A | Parent A |
In this schedule, the child spends 2 days with parent A, and 2 days with parent B, and the cycle continues. That means the child only spends 2 days with one parent and moves to spend another 2 days with another parent on a rotational basis.
While this schedule can serve 50/50 custody, it may be tiresome to keep and it may look tiresome for the child. It is also applicable where the parents live close to each other.
Option 4: Two Weeks Schedule
| Day of the week/week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Week 1 | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A |
| Week 2 | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A | Parent A |
| Week 3 | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B |
| Week 4 | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B | Parent B |
Here, each parent spends 2 weeks each with the child. This could be one of the best since there is little interruption of the child. The child does not have to rotate back and forth on a daily basis like in other schedule options. However, this may be difficult for a young child who cannot go for days without seeing any of the parents.
For this to work properly, while the child is spending the first 2 weeks with parent A, parent B can be making regular visits and vice versa.
Consideration Factors in A 50/50 Child Custody Schedule
While it can be easy to alternate the days or weeks to suit a 50/50 time-sharing, there have to be some considerations to ensure that the schedule does not just work for the parents. It should serve the best interests of the child and that should be a priority. Some of the considerations that you should make, therefore, would include:
- Whether the parents live close to each other or not.
- Parents’ work schedule and the possibility of relocation.
- Child’s routine activities such as school and extra-curricular activities.
- Communication between the parents for picking arrangements and visitation plans.
50/50 child custody works best where the parents live close to each other. This will ensure that the routine activities of the child are not interfered with. In addition to that, it would be easier for the child to adopt a moving schedule when parents live close to each other than when they are several miles apart.
Conclusion
This article will be a useful guide for parents who are developing a schedule to suit 50/50 time-sharing. Equal time-sharing is valuable for the child when a good schedule is put in place since the child regularly gets in touch with both parents. However, few challenges may arise when implementing this schedule especially if one parent lives far away.
Therefore, both parents need to be on good speaking terms with each other for this schedule to work properly. In addition to that, it is good for parents to collaborate when coming up with this kind of schedule so that each party will feel satisfied considering the best interests of the child or children.
