Child Visitation
Child visitation, often pursuant to a parenting plan, can take a variety of forms or schedules; two of the most common are reasonable visitation, which leaves it up to the parents to specify dates and times, and scheduled visitation, which is a fixed schedule. Visitation arrangements normally include some if not all of the following basic provisions:
- Alternate weekend visitation with the non-custodial parent, including “three-day holidays”
- Mid-week visitation with the non-custodial parent
- Sharing of the child during periods of school recess – winter, spring and summer (often split 50-50)
- New Year`s Eve, Easter, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are typical holidays where children alternate spending the day with each parent from year to year
- Mother`s Day is spent with the mother, Father`s Day with the father
- Parents alternate years on the child`s birthday
- Open and frequent telephone contact by the parent who does not have physical custody of the child
- Exchange of a few days of visitation here and there, as mutually agreed, without the need for a modification of the court order
Emergency situations would potentially require the other parent to take temporary physical custody of the child.