Parenting Plan Examples with a Shared Child Custody and Visitation Schedule

I was recently talking to a friend who is in the process of making a parenting plan. I asked her some questions about how she was able to get started on the process, and she said that one of the most helpful things for creating her plan was to look at some parenting plan examples to give her ideas. We discussed some of the examples she had looked at and how those helped her form her plan. To give other divorced and separated parents this same benefit, here are some example plans with some possible shared custody and visitation schedules.

To begin with, let's look at the basics of a parenting plan. This plan should contain all of the information that the parents want about how they will continue to raise the child. The biggest section of the parenting plan is the custody and visitation schedule. The parents can also add provisions to the plan, and they should include information about child support. They can fill all of this information out in the court approved documents, or make their own plan if the state allows it.

Many parents choose shared child custody schedules in their plans. This is because the shared schedule gives both parents significant time with the children so that the mother and father can both be involved in the child's life. The time doesn't have to be divided exactly equal, but both parents should have frequent and continuing visitation with the child.

Some example shared visitation schedules include any type of schedule where both parents spend time with the children. An equal division of time is found in a schedule where the parents alternate custody every week or two weeks. A slight adjustment to this schedule can give the parent who doesn't have custody during the week an evening or overnight visit with the child. This allows the parents to not have to wait an entire week to see the child.

Some other common schedules include splitting the week in half. This can be done with a 2/2/5/5 split or a 3/3/4/4 split. Basically, in this type of schedule the parents rotate custody every few days. So, in a 2/2/5/5 schedule, the first parent has the child two days, the second parent has the child two days, then the first parent has the child five days and the second parent has the child five days. Parents can also set up a shared schedule where the child lives primarily with one parent and then visits frequently with the other parent.

In addition to the custody and visitation schedule, the parenting plan should have some custody provisions and stipulations. These are the rules that both parents agree to, and they can help the custody situation work out much better. Some sample provisions for a shared parenting plan could be about transportation for visitation, choosing extra-curricular events for the children, getting a passport for the child, sharing information between the parents, etc.

Looking at and exploring examples of parenting plans and custody schedules is a great first step in making a plan. This way parents can discover new options that can help their situation and make their plan better. Then they can have confidence that their plan will be the best one for the child.