ABA Family Legal Guide

Family Law

3.4 Separation, Annulment, and Divorce

Visitation/Access/Parenting Time

If a parent does not receive custody, how much access or visitation is he or she likely to receive?

That will vary with the desires of the parents and the inclinations of a judge. A standard visitation schedule is every other weekend (Friday evening through Sunday); a weeknight (for dinner); the child's winter and spring breaks in alternating years; alternate major holidays; and several weeks in the summer. If parents live far apart and regular weekend visitation is not feasible, it is common to allocate more summer vacation and school holidays to the noncustodial parent. For parents who do not like the terms "visitation" or "custody," it is possible to draft a custody and visitation order, which leaves out those terms and just describes the times at which the child will be with each parent. Instead of "visitation" and "custody," some states use terms such as "parenting time" or "access to the child."