Child Visitation and Your Custody Case
In a custody case, the term child visitation refers to the amount of time that the children are with each parent. It can mean the actual visits the non custodial parent has with the children and it can also be used in a more general sense to mean an agreement of custody and visitation. Whichever way it is used, it is a big part of your custody situation.
There are many arrangements that parents can choose from when they are deciding about child visitation. If you are in the process of creating a custody and visitation schedule or agreement, the first step is to decide what type of custody you and the other parent will share. If you and the other parent have joint custody then you will both have about the same time with the kids. If one parent has sole custody, the children will spend the majority of time with that parent and have some visitation time with the other parent.
Choosing the type of custody prepares you for the next phase in your schedule. You need to set up a repeating schedule that can be applied for the whole year. Take a few weeks and decide how you'd like your custody arrangement to look. Then you take that schedule and repeat it through the year. This is your rotating or repeating cycle.
The rotating cycle that you choose depends on the type of custody. In a sole custody situation you would set up something like the one parent has custody and the other parent gets the children every other weekend and for a weeknight visit. Or perhaps you could set it up so one parent has the kids during the week and the other parent has them on the weekends.
In a joint custody plan, the parents can alternate custody every week, every two weeks, or every month. If you choose a longer period, like the two weeks or month, of custody you can schedule in some visits to the other parent. You can also have the children spend time with one parent for half the week and the other parent for the other half.
Another part of child visitation is deciding where the child will spend holidays. Usually the parents divide the holidays between them–with both parents getting major and minor holidays. You can also include vacation time with each parent in your visitation schedule.
Child visitation is a crucial part of your custody case. Both parents can be involved in creating the custody and visitation schedule. Once this is done then the parents can relax and enjoy the time they have with the children.