Schedule guide · Alternating weeks
Alternating weeks: a full week with each parent
The children spend one full week with one parent, then one full week with the other. It is the simplest 50/50 pattern, with the fewest exchanges.
How it works
Parent 1 has seven nights in a row, then Parent 2 has seven nights in a row. The planner exchanges on Monday, but many families pick Friday or Sunday instead. Choose the day that fits school and work, and say it in the plan, with a time and place.
Some families add a midweek dinner or overnight with the off-week parent. Tap a night in the planner to see what that does to the split.
The two-week grid
At a glance
Counts come from the two-week pattern shown. Holidays, school breaks and vacations in a real plan change them.
Who it may suit
- Older children and teens who want fewer moves between homes.
- Parents who live farther apart, where frequent handoffs are hard.
- Families where exchanges are tense, since there are only two every two weeks.
Trade-offs to weigh
- Each parent goes seven nights without the children, which can feel long for younger children and for parents.
- A whole week of school logistics falls on one parent at a time.
- Holidays and summer still need their own rules; the weekly rotation alone does not handle them. Use the planner's holiday and summer options.
Putting it in your parenting plan
Colorado's official parenting plan form, JDF 1113, has a section for the school-year schedule, where you list each parent's days and times, and separate sections for summer and holidays. Our walkthrough of the form explains each part. Write exact exchange times and places; "alternating weekends" alone leaves too much to argue about.
Before you commit, load the pattern in the planner, add your holidays and summer, and download the year to your calendar to see how it actually lands.
Your lawyer, start to finish
Attorney Charles E. Liken Jr.
Attorney Liken has written the kind of report a judge reads in a custody case, as a court-appointed Colorado Child & Family Investigator. He can tell you how a schedule like this one fits your children and your facts.
- Former Colorado Deputy District Attorney
- Colorado court-appointed Child & Family Investigator
- 700+ government fraud investigations
- 30+ years in the legal field
- Licensed in Colorado
Talk it through
Is this the right schedule for your family?
Bring the schedule to a free 20-minute call with Attorney Liken. No charge and no obligation.
Office telephone 303-406-2791
Office fax number 720-713-7147
Email charles@longmont.law
Office mailing address
The Longmont Law Firm, LLC
1601 29th St. Suite 1292
Boulder, CO 80301
Please do not send confidential details by email before we speak. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.