Who knew getting divorced would result in so many questions? If there are shared children, a divorce involves a bit more than divvying up the assets. You’re going to need to address some issues like child custody and visitation schedules. Parenting plans can take several forms, it’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing, and a common schedule is a 60/40 arrangement.
Neither parent goes more than a few days without seeing their child. However, there can be some pros and cons of a 60/40 parenting schedule. Knowing what they are can make it a little easier to decide if it’s the right parenting plan for your family.
What Does a 60/40 Parenting Plan Look Like
In essence, a 60/40 parenting plan means the child spends 60% of their time in one home and 40% in the other. No, time with the child isn’t equally split between parents but it’s relatively close. Even the 60/40 split doesn’t always work out precisely the way it’s written. One parent may end up spending 57% of the time with their child. The other 3% may mean the parent is working or the child has extracurricular activities.
What we’re trying to say is don’t put too much stock in the percentages. The percentages rarely work out exactly how they’re listed on the parenting agreement. The 60/40 split may be closer to 50/50 than you think. So, what does a 60/40 shared parenting plan actually look like? Guess what, you and the other parent have a few options:
- Long weekends: If one parent works consistently through the week, this may be a good option. One parent has the child from Monday afternoon to Friday after school. The other parent has the child from Friday afternoon to Monday morning. The potential downside is the same parent almost always has the weekends and this can be a downer for the other parent. If they want to take their child on a weekend trip, it can be complicated. You’re cutting into the other parent’s time with their child.
- 4 Days On and 3 Days Off: At first glance, this looks the same as a long weekend 60/40 parenting plan. While the number of days the child spends with each parent remains the same, weekends are back up for grabs. You and your former spouse can pick any days that fit your schedules. You have a tad more flexibility with this custody schedule. You’ll find it a little easier to make adjustments if your schedule changes. While it’s great for parents with nontraditional work schedules, this co-parenting arrangement can have a downside. If one parent has a set schedule and the other parent has more flexibility, switching child custody days during the week probably isn’t going to fly.
You may even want to go with a 2-2-5-5 schedule. Both parents get to spend plenty of time with their child but keeping track of the schedule can be a tad daunting. One week you’re running the child exchange every 2 days and the following week, it’s every five days. Then you switch back to the two-day schedule. As you can see, it’s pretty easy to mix up whose turn it is with the shared children.
Potential Issues of 60/40 Parenting Schedules
You’ve probably already come up with a few potential drawbacks to a 60/40 split parenting schedule. We’ve also addressed a few like not having your children home on the weekends. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only potential issue. You can run into a few others that may even surprise you.
Legal Custody Can Be Confusing
Physical and legal custody aren’t the same things. Just because a parent has physical custody doesn’t necessarily mean they also have legal custody. Feeling a bit confused, you’re certainly not alone. In a nutshell, legal custody means one parent is responsible for making all decisions regarding the child’s education, healthcare, and religion. Physical custody simply refers to which parent has care of the child.
So, one parent can have legal custody even when the child is staying with the other parent. Since 60/40 parenting plans mean the child is spending several days with each parent, legal custody can easily become an issue. Having a plan in place if an emergency pops up like a broken arm can help you avoid this potential downside.
Child Support Can Be Impacted
Even when parents are sharing custody in a 60/40 visitation schedule, child support can still pop up. The parent receiving child support is typically the one with legal custody. The amount of time the child is spending with this parent doesn’t matter, at least not quite yet.
The amount you receive in child support is based on a few factors. This typically includes your average annual income and your child’s needs. If you can’t reach a child support agreement during divorce mediation, the family court judge usually steps in. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on your situation. Generally speaking, child support isn’t awarded when custody is equally shared between parents. The reasoning is both parents are already contributing equally to their shared child.
Things are a little different when child custody is split 60/40. Typically, the parent with 60% of the visitation schedule is the one receiving child support. However, there’s a good chance child support is going to be reduced. You may end up only receiving around 40% of the average child support amount. Don’t write this number down. Child custody arrangements are generally left to the court and there’s no predicting what a judge may decide.
Is a 60/40 Parenting Plan Right for You?
Only you can answer this question. While you can find some advantages in a 60/40 parenting schedule, there are also a few potential downsides. You may end up losing weekends with your child. Your child support payments may also be reduced. With that being said, there can be some upsides to 60/40 parenting. You may get to spend a little more quality time with your child, and this is often priceless.