Equal Time: Understanding the Logistics of a Joint Physical Custodial Schedule

Families exploring Joint Physical Custody have many things to consider in order to find the right schedule to accommodate “equal time” for the child with both parents.

Parties need to explore calendars and schedules in order to determine how best to accomplish shared physical custody. When building a joint custodial schedule, all aspects of a child’s schedule matter, including school, child care, and extracurricular activities. If 50-50 custody is going to work, the Parties need to also explore their respective calendars and commitments, (inclusive of their work schedules). Not all 50-50 schedules look alike, and with good reason, because no two families are alike.

Some of the more common joint physical custodial schedules include a Week on Week off approach, so that one parent starts their week on a particular day and has the child for 7 consecutive days. At the conclusion of the 1st parent’s 7 days, the other parent  begins a week with the child, in the same manner, and have the child for the next 7 consecutive days.

Two other fairly common schedules are referred to as a 2-2-3 Schedule or a 5-5-2-2 Schedule. The numbers in these schedules refers to the number of consecutive overnights with each parent. In a 2-2-3 schedule, Week 1: Parent 1 has Monday and Tuesday  overnight, Parent 2 has Wednesday and Thursday overnight, and then Parent 1 has the weekend from Friday through Monday. Then in Week 2: Parent 2 has Monday and Tuesday overnight, Parent 1 has Wednesday and Thursday overnight, and then Parent 2 has the weekend from Friday through Monday. A 2-2-3 schedule looks like this:

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATRUDAY
Parent 2 Parent 1 Parent 1 Parent 2 Parent 2 Parent 1 Parent 1
Parent 1 Parent 2 Parent 2 Parent 1 Parent 1 Parent 2 Parent 2
Parent 2 Parent 1 Parent 1 Parent 2 Parent 2 Parent 1 Parent 1
Parent 1 Parent 2 Parent 2 Parent 1 Parent 1 Parent 2  

 

In a 5-5-2-2 schedule, in week, Parent 1 has Monday and Tuesday overnight and every week, Parent 2 has Wednesday and Thursday overnight, and then the parents alternate the weekend from Friday through Monday. A 5-5-2-2 schedule looks like this:

 

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATRUDAY
Parent 1 Parent 1 Parent 1 Parent 2 Parent 2 Parent 2 Parent 2
Parent 2 Parent 1 Parent 1 Parent 2 Parent 2 Parent 1 Parent 1
Parent 1 Parent 1 Parent 1 Parent 2 Parent 2 Parent 2 Parent 2
Parent 2 Parent 1 Parent 1 Parent 2 Parent 2 Parent 1 Parent 1

 

These are only a few of the more commonly used schedules. There are several other options that can also be explored to create a 50-50 parenting plan. Getting the schedule right is an important key to successfully achieving shared physical custody. Deciding what plan works best for your family, depends largely on the specific schedules of the members of your family. The family law attorneys at Cohn Lifland can help you to assess your case to determine what schedule(s) may work best for your family. If you have any questions, contact one of our experienced family law attorneys at Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf.