Parent-Child Contact Schedules in Maine (Visitation)
A parent-child contact schedule specifies when the child will be with each parent.
When you start a case, you'll give the court a proposed schedule as a standalone document or as part of a parenting plan.
When choosing a schedule, consider your child's age, the distance between parents' homes, your child's school schedule and your work schedules.
Parents can negotiate a contact schedule or let the court decide. In either case, the schedule must support the child's best interests. The court may appoint — or parents can hire — a guardian ad litem to investigate and recommend an arrangement.
Common schedules
Choose a schedule in line with the type of residence you've proposed.
Shared primary residence is when the child lives at each parent's home for nearly equal time. Since courts uphold that "consistent, meaningful contact" with both parents is best for the child, it is most common.
The week on, week off schedule (also called the alternating weeks schedule or every other week) allows parents to keep the child in their custody for one week at a time.
You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.
Parents who live near one another could have more frequent exchanges, such as in the 2-2-5-5 schedule.
You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.
Primary residence places the child in the care of one parent for the majority of time. The nonprimary parent has visitation.
A common parent-child contact schedule in this circumstance is every other weekend for the nonprimary parent, with a biweekly overnight visit. You can adjust when the weekend begins and ends.
You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.
School breaks and holidays
Students in Maine have week-long breaks, one in February and one in April.
Typically, one parent gets the week in February for President's Day…
You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.
…and the other gets the week in April for Spring Break.
You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.
For holidays with shorter breaks, parents often alternate every year.
You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.
You could include the weekend to extend holiday time.
You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.
During summer, parents often switch to a week on, week off schedule if they aren't already following one. Or, you could allow each other to have a few consecutive weeks at a time.
You can customize this to fit your situation with Custody X Change.
The easiest way to make a schedule
If you're like most parents, creating a parent-child contact schedule will feel daunting. How do you write something that meets legal requirements 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.
Try this with Custody X Change.
Then watch a full description appear in your custom parenting plan.
Try this with Custody X Change.
The combination of a visual and written schedule means your family will have no problem knowing who has the child when. Take advantage of Custody X Change to make your schedule as clear and thorough as can be.