During a divorce, parents can decide on a child custody schedule. This schedule can work in many ways. For some families, parents will rotate custody of their children every few days, and others may rotate custody every week. A schedule can also decide what time parents will need to pick up or drop off their children, such as after school or work.
Custody schedules can last for a long time, but not all of them. Parents can work on a new child custody schedule. Here are a few reasons to make changes to an existing plan:
A parent wants or needs to relocate
Many parents have to move to a new town or city after a divorce to find affordable housing or better work. If a parent finds a new opportunity far away from their child, they may want a new custody schedule. When parents live long distances from each other, some of them will adjust visitation schedules so that they have “blocks” of time with their children. In other words, instead of seeing their children every weekend, they may ask to have summers with them, when the kids are out of school. This can help parents save on gas or travel expenses.
A parent develops a medical condition
A parent could have developed a medical condition that affects them physically or mentally. As a result, they may not be fit to have custody of their child for long amounts of time. A new custody schedule could help parents by giving a parent visitation time or shorter amounts of custody time while they recover from their medical condition.
A parent’s work or school schedule changes
Many parents still work or go to school after their divorce. However, work and school schedules can fluctuate, which can conflict with custody schedules. Parents may need to alter a custody schedule to plan around their new work or school schedule.
Do you need to alter your custody schedule? You may need to reach out for legal help to learn about your options for negotiating a change with a minimum of frustration and disruption.