I am seeing more and more shared custody arrangements in Connecticut. In a shared custody situation, both parents have significant parenting time with their child. Some shared custody plans call for an exact 50/50 time sharing scenario while other plans are not necessarily an exact division of time.
There are countless shared custody schedules, which vary depending on the particulars of the family.
Here are a few of the more popular 50/50 schedules:
2/2/3 schedule. The week begins with the mother having the child Monday and Tuesday. The father has the child Wednesday and Thursday. The child spends the weekend with Mother. The schedule alternates in the next week. It looks like this:
Week #1. M M F F M M M
Week# 2. F F M M F F F
2/2/5/5 schedule. The mother has the child every Monday and Tuesday. The father has the child every Wednesday and Thursday. The parents alternate weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).
I like this schedule the best. It gives the child longer blocks of time (but not too long) with a parent and there is less back and forth between homes. I think set weekdays for the child provide stability and makes it easy for the child.
Week on and week off. In this arrangement, the parents simply alternate weeks – week #1 child is with mother and week #2 child is father. This schedule is often used if the parents do not live near each other. However, the downside is that the child goes a long time with out seeing the other parent.
Regardless of the schedule you choose, be sure to include provisions for vacations, holidays and special events, which should take precedence over the regular schedule.
Please email me or call (203) 259-5251 for additional information concerning shared custody in Connecticut.