When you’re divorcing, one of the primary concerns is always the health and safety of your children. You and your spouse do want to have joint custody, but you know that it’s been very difficult to come up with a custody schedule.
The good news is that there are many possible solutions, even if you think you’ve come to an impasse. The goal is to look out for your children’s best interests, so to start with, both parents need to think about what their children need.
Think about your children’s daily activities and needs. Talk to one another about the duties that you took on during your marriage and if you’ll have time to continue those actions after divorce. Be reasonable because though you may both want to be there for your children all the time, you will have other responsibilities as well. Finding balance is essential.
Once you have discussed things like your child’s schedule, your work schedules and other responsibilities, you should pencil out a basic schedule. See where you can have custody and where the other parent can have custody. Start with days that don’t overlap, so you know that you or the other parent needs to have custody on those days. From there, you can start working through each day that you’re not clear on until you get a basic agreement.
If you go to court over a custody dispute, a judge will make a schedule for you. This is solely focused on the children’s best interests, which is perfect for them but may cause some issues with your work or other responsibilities. That’s why it’s better for you and your spouse to come up with an agreement and to avoid trial unless you have no other option.