Residential Custody
Residential Custody is the term used for establishing which parent’s home should be considered the children’s primary residence. It is necessary to establish a primary residence for a number of reasons, most predominantly to establish which school district a child will be enrolled in and which parent is likely to receive Child support. There are a number of other state and federal statutes that require the determination of a primary residence. The child or children will use the Residential parent’s address for these purposes.
Regular Parenting Schedules
Regular Parenting Schedule is the term we use for the establishment of the everyday Parenting Time schedule for the child or children, as opposed to the schedule for holidays or exceptions for vacations or the like. Regular Parenting Schedules are written in Court Orders. These Orders can be either temporary or for the long-term. In a Divorce case, these Orders would be included in a Final Judgement of Dissolution. In a Paternity, these plans would be in a final Order. Generally, the schedule will consider a two week period of time and the schedule depicted in that two week window would be repeated for every two weeks.
Vacation Parenting Time
Vacation Parenting Time will generally be included in a final order and will establish how many days and how often each parent will be able to take the children on vacation. It will also typically include a notice agreement that will establish the requirements for how much notice each parent must give to the other before taking the children on vacation – usually a 30 day notice is included. Occasionally, there will also be a limitation on the distance of travel or the location. This is often seen when one party has family or significant relationships in other countries. For example: one party may only take the children to see family in Mexico with a 90 day notice rather than a 30 day notice; or one party may be barred from taking the children to Canada outright.
