Custody Schedule Library
Ten common parenting time patterns, each on its own page with a day-by-day cycle table, the real overnight math behind its label, and an honest account of where it works and where it strains. These are conventions families and courts reach for, not legal requirements.
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Equal time (50/50) rotations
Four ways to split overnights evenly, from six exchanges a fortnight down to two.
- 2-2-3 schedule50/50The 50/50 rotation with the shortest gaps: nobody waits more than 3 nights.See the full pattern
- 3-4-4-3 schedule50/50Equal time with fixed weekday anchors and only one swing day per week.See the full pattern
- 2-2-5-5 schedule50/50Fixed weekday pairs plus alternating 5-night blocks; weekends trade automatically.See the full pattern
- Week on / week off50/50Alternating full weeks with a single handoff; the simplest 50/50 to run.See the full pattern
Majority time patterns
One primary household, with the second parent holding from about a fifth to two fifths of nights.
- 60/40 (4-3) schedule60/40The 4-3 week: an unchanging extended weekend, 57/43 by the real math.See the full pattern
- Alternating weekends plus a midweek overnight64/36Alternating weekends plus a weekly school-night stay; the gap shrinks to 6 nights.See the full pattern
- Every weekend71/29One parent holds all 5 school nights, the other every Friday and Saturday.See the full pattern
- 70/30 schedule70/30An exact 70/30 on a 10-day loop that drifts across the weekdays.See the full pattern
- 80/20 (alternating weekends) schedule80/20The classic alternating 3-night weekend, with an 11-night gap in between.See the full pattern
Long distance
When exchanges mean real travel, plans run on blocks instead of weeks.
Where these patterns come from
These rotations are scheduling conventions, shorthand that parents, mediators, and family courts share. No statute defines them and no agency publishes an official list, so the pages in this library cite no laws. The splits shown on each card are the arithmetic of the cycle itself, and every page shows the day-by-day table so you can check the count. A court order or signed parenting plan can use any of these shapes, modify them freely, or ignore them entirely.
Changelog: library first published with 10 patterns. Material changes are dated in the update log.