Joint custody schedules are the most common form of parenting arrangements. Courts have now recognized that it is in the best interest of the child to award significant visitation time with both parents.
But just because there is joint custody doesn’t mean that parents equally share the time. The following are some examples:
50-50 custody
These joint custody schedules are evenly split between both parents. They typically come in the form of what’s called a 2-2-3 schedule, where each parent gets 2 overnight days with the child during the week and they alternate weekends where parent A will get one weekend and parent B will get the next weekend. These are favored by courts in situations where both parents want to have significant time with the child and when the child is in school. These schedules is that they involve a lot of transportation, so it’s best to make sure that both parents live close to each other and the child’s school.
Another factor courts might consider is the living arrangements. Let’s say a mother moves out of the house where the father is living and wants a 2-2-3. It will be better if the mother moves into a new residence that has more than one bedroom and a separate bed for the child to stay in during the overnight stays. If, however, the mother moves into a studio with no extra space, it will be harder to get a 2-2-3 since the court will be concerned where the child is sleeping.
Alternating weekends
This schedule occurs where one parent gets majority custody and the other parent gets alternating weekends. This can happen if the child has a lot of after school activities and it will be too hard for him to be moving during the week. The parent that has only alternating weekends may also get a single overnight stay during the weeks where he doesn’t have the child during the weekends. This usually happens when one parent does not have much time to take care of the children because he works full time or because he lives far away.
Every Weekend
This scenario is a balance between the above two. Where one parent may be working full time, but can still support every weekend visitation, this is an ideal schedule. However, this schedule can be tricky because parent A will not have any custody time at all during weekends. These are risky though because the majority custody holder will not have any leisure time on the weekends with the child. The primary custodial parent in these situations might want to consider arguing for at least one weekend a month so they can have time to take the child to the park or Disneyland for example.
How can I help?
If you have any more questions about divorce, child custody, or criminal defense please contact me for a consultation at levon@kevorkianlawoffices.com or call 626-227-1176 and ask to speak with me. Connect with me on Google+.
The Law Offices of Levon Kevorkian is a boutique law firm located in Pasadena, California handling Divorce, Child Custody, and Criminal Defense matters. Our office is located at 1055 E. Colorado Blvd. Fifth Floor, Pasadena CA 91106.
Disclaimer: This blog post, and other blog posts by me, are not meant to be legal advice. No attorney-client relationship will be formed by these blog posts.
