Arkansas Parenting Time Schedules (Custody & Visitation)
Arkansas courts prefer to order equal parenting time for divorcing or separated parents. They may order unequal time if there's a reason for it, but will still encourage both parents to have frequent and continuing contact with their child.
If your child spends time in two households, you'll benefit from writing a detailed visitation schedule. Your child will benefit too.
Once you have a schedule, follow it consistently to help your child adjust.
How you get a parenting time schedule
If you and the other parent agree on a schedule, the court will likely approve it, especially if each parent gets significant time with the child.
If you and the other parent can't agree, the court will give you a schedule after reviewing your individual proposals. It will base its decision on your child's needs.
Why some parents don't have a schedule
Some parents feel confident they can arrange visits amicably with each other. They may go without a fixed schedule and arrange each visit separately.
Each of you is entitled to "reasonable parenting time." Even if one parent has sole custody, the other usually has the right to see the child (unless their visits would put the child at risk, like by exposing them to possible abuse). Together or separately, you can ask the court to lay down rules for parent communication, e.g., how far in advance you must schedule a visit.
Equal time schedule ideas
While your parenting time is unlikely to be a precise 50/50 split, the court tries to give you reasonably close to equal time.
If you and the other parent live close by, you can do frequent exchanges.
A 2–2–3 schedule is popular.
Older kids may do well with alternating weeks.
Unequal time schedule ideas
If you have a reason why unequal time is in your child's best interests, the court may order it.
In Arkansas, a common schedule is every weekend, Friday at 6 p.m. to Sunday at 6 p.m.
If you live close together and both parents can bring the child back and forth from school, long weekends are possible.
The weekend parent could have Thursday to Sunday.
Alternatively, they could have Friday to Monday.
It used to be standard in some Arkansas counties to give one parent alternating weekends, Friday afternoon to Monday morning, with a brief midweek visit every other week. Because this is familiar to judges, you might receive a version of this.
Putting in details
Propose a detailed schedule so the judge can understand what you have in mind. You can include it with your parenting plan.
Try to anticipate how the schedule will work long-term. You can plan for it to change at a certain milestone or date.
For court, as a minimum, you have to spell out your schedule in writing. Most parents in Arkansas do rely on a written description alone.
If you go beyond and bring a visual calendar, you'll stand head and shoulders above the rest and show the judge you're prepared. You'll communicate more clearly with the other parent, and everyone involved will have more reason to believe that your proposed schedule is accurate and complete.
An app like Custody X Change makes it easy to design a visual calendar.
Preparing for unexpected events
No matter how well you plan, you can't predict or avoid every minor disruption. You can, however, plan to handle them calmly and constructively.
Say how you'll handle small surprises, like an early dismissal from school, and what kind of responsibility and flexibility you expect from each other. Your written explanation can go in your parenting plan.
If you're having trouble following the schedule
You and the other parent should work together to meet your co-parenting responsibilities. Even when your court-ordered schedule feels inconvenient, you're legally obligated to follow it. Plus, your child is better off when their parents cooperate.
If it's hard to speak directly with your co-parent or if you struggle to compromise, try mediation. You can seek up to six hours of free mediation through the Arkansas Access & Visitation Mediation Program. You can also hire a mediator privately.
If you have a material change of circumstances (like a new job) and if it would be in your child's best interest to have a different schedule, you can go back to court to seek a modification. However, merely changing your preference about your parenting schedule isn't a sufficient reason to go back to court.
When your best efforts at cooperation fail, legal enforcement may be appropriate. If one parent intentionally defies court-ordered parenting time, the other can ask the court to hold them in contempt.
The easiest way to make a schedule
If you're like most parents, creating a parenting time schedule will feel daunting. How do you make a document that's legally valid and doesn't leave any loose ends?
The Custody X Change app makes it easy. Either customize a schedule template, or click and drag in your custody calendar to make a schedule from scratch.
Then watch a full description appear in your parenting plan.
You and your co-parent can keep using the app to be notified of upcoming exchanges and to share your minor scheduling adjustments.
The combination of a visual and written schedule easily communicates who has the child when. Take advantage of Custody X Change to make your schedule as clear and thorough as can be.