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Rotating Physical Custody or Equal Timesharing: Good for Noncustodial Parent. What About Kids?

By Janet Langjahr

Parents of a preschool child live several states apart.

How do they timeshare? One possibility …

The preschooler “rotates” from one parent’s home to the other’s, on a monthly basis.

That is possible (if not beneficial) before the child begins school.

But what about after the child starts school?

Typically, where the parents are separated by great distances, one parent or the other will be the primary residential parent.

The other parent may have liberal visitation over summer and other extended school vacations.

The nonresidential parent can have telephone and webcam visitation on a daily basis if desired.

A far less common arrangement is to continue rotating physical custody, but on an annual, rather than monthly, basis.

It can be done. But should it?

Many therapists consider this type of arrangement to be hard on kids, although perhaps “fair” to the non-custodial parent.

Historically, courts have not favored such arrangements.

But that may be starting to change under newer statutory schemes that strive to be more fair to both parents.

For better or worse …

Read more in this Newsday article: Shuttled school-age child can see both parents.

Full post as published by Florida Divorce - Child Custody - Domestic Abuse Law on August 22, 2008 (boomark / email).