In theory, co-parenting during the summer should be a breeze–no school, no homework, no stress, right?  In practice, things can get pretty complicated trying to come up with a summer visitation schedule that works for both parents and keeps the children happy.  This post offers brief thoughts on some frequently-used summer visitation schedules.  Now that summer is nearly over, you can reflect on these options to determine what to do for next year.  As with all of our posts, this is not designed to offer legal advice regarding what schedule would work best for you and your family.  If you have specific questions, you should speak with an experienced Virginia family law and divorce attorney.

• General Visitation Schedule + Vacation option

  • Overview – Perhaps the most common summer visitation schedule is keeping the school-year schedule through the summer months (where the custodial parent retains “primary custody”).  Normally, in addition to the regular schedule, the parents will both have an option to exercise a certain number of uninterrupted weeks with the children during the summer (often two or three weeks).
    • Benefits – Keeping the children in the same routine can be beneficial.  The parents are also used to the routine and it may be ideal for their respective work schedules.  Also, if the normal schedule is a shared or equal schedule, there is often little reason or need to change for the summer.
    • Detriments – A school-year visitation schedule may be difficult to manage for parents when the children aren’t actually in school.  Planning day care, summer camps, and vacations can be complicated, and often lead to a tug-of-war for time between parents.

• Week to Week

  • Overview – Another common arrangement is for parents to alternate weeks with their children throughout the summer.  This is particularly common for parents who live near one-another and who have both maintained a good relationship with the children.
    • Benefits – Equal time for parents can be healthy for children.  It is an easy structure to follow and there are fewer visitation exchanges (i.e. less back and forth).  This structure also provides plenty of opportunity for vacations and less risk for scheduling conflicts.
    • Detriments – For some parents (especially working parents), making daycare/camp arrangements every other week is complicated and expensive.  If this is a concern for you, perhaps a 2-week on, 2-week off summer visitation schedule might be better.

• Majority to Non-Custodial Parent

  • Overview – This summer visitation schedule is particularly common for parents who live in different locations.  Because transportation is expensive and time consuming, when a non-custodial parent lives far away from the child during the school year, there aren’t many opportunities for visitation.  Hence, give them most of the summer.
    • Benefits – A large portion of the summer gives a parent (who is mostly absent from the child’s life during school) the additional time needed to maintain a strong bond with their child.  It also allows a child to adapt to a new environment without the burden of homework assignments or other school-related stress.
    • Detriments – For the custodial parent, it is often difficult to stomach being away from their child for long periods of time.  For the noncustodial parent, it is often difficult to rekindle a relationship after only seeing their child sporadically during the school year.

Hopefully these comments will get you thinking about what might be best for your child during the summer.  Perhaps one of these options would suit them well; perhaps yet another schedule would be best.  Brainstorming with the other parent could also help.

If you have questions about summer visitation, or about other child custody or visitation issues, contact an experienced family law and divorce attorney at BoykoNapier.  BoykoNapier represents clients throughout Central Virginia, including Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover and the surrounding localities.  Feel free to contact BoykoNapier at (804) 658-3418, or you may contact us via email.