See what a parenting schedule actually looks like on a calendar — which parent has the children on which nights — and save the result as a PDF.
Parenting schedules are usually described in shorthand — 2-2-3, week on/week off, every other weekend — and the shorthand rarely conveys what the arrangement feels like in practice. Two patterns can both be “50/50” and still produce very different weeks for a child.
This tool lays a chosen pattern onto a real three-month calendar so you can see exactly which nights fall with which parent, how long the stretches away from each parent run, and where the handoffs land relative to the school week. Enter the parents’ names, pick a pattern, set the start date, and save the result as a PDF.
They answer different questions. The Custody Timeshare Calculator produces the overnight percentage that California's guideline child support formula relies on. This visualizer shows you what a pattern actually looks like on a calendar — which parent has the children on which nights — so you can picture the arrangement before committing to it. Use the visualizer to choose a pattern, then the calculator to confirm the percentage.
That is not something I can advise on. As a Legal Document Assistant I prepare the documents you direct me to prepare; I cannot recommend a custody arrangement or tell you what serves a child's best interest. California courts weigh the child's age, school and activity schedules, the distance between homes, each parent's work schedule, and the co-parenting relationship. An attorney or a family law facilitator can help you evaluate those factors.
They describe how many consecutive nights each parent has in a repeating cycle. In 2-2-3, one parent has two nights, the other has two nights, and they alternate a three-night weekend block, so no stretch exceeds three nights. In 2-2-5-5, each parent has the same two fixed weekdays every week and the weekends alternate, which produces alternating five-night blocks. Both are roughly 50/50.
No. The calendar shows the regular repeating schedule only. Holiday, school break, and vacation time is normally negotiated as a separate section of a parenting plan and it overrides the regular rotation, so your real percentages will differ from the figures shown here.
The PDF is a planning aid, not a court form. It is useful for discussing a proposed schedule with the other parent or for handing to a document preparer as a description of the terms you have agreed on. If you want that schedule reflected in a court filing, I prepare custody and visitation documents, including proposed parenting plans, for a flat $500.
Once you have settled on a pattern, I prepare child custody and visitation documents — including a proposed parenting plan reflecting the terms you give me — for a flat $500. You may also want the Custody Timeshare Calculator to confirm the overnight percentage.
You have the estimate — now let us prepare the paperwork. Free consultation, flat-rate pricing, and update requests answered within 24 hours.
You may not have to pay the court filing fee — ask us and we will tell you in about five minutes whether you qualify.