Parenting plan builder
Choose your regular schedule, the handoff, how holidays and birthdays work, who decides what, how you talk and how costs are shared. You get a dated, readable draft with overnights a year for each home - ready to print, save as a PDF or bring to your mediator.
Parenting plan for our children
About 183 overnights a year with Parent A (50.1%) and 182 with Parent B (49.9%).
Regular schedule
- our children follow the 2-2-3 pattern: Two days, two days, three days - then it flips. No long gaps.
- Over each two weeks that is about 50% of nights with Parent A and 50% with Parent B.
- With 2 summer weeks each, that comes to about 183 overnights a year with Parent A and 182 with Parent B.
Handoffs
- The main handoff is on Friday at 6:00 pm, at school pick-up.
- The parent the children are going to collects them, unless both agree otherwise in writing.
- Belongings travel with the children: school things, medicine and favourite comfort items.
Holidays and special days
- Thanksgiving: alternates each year, with Parent A in even years and Parent B in odd years.
- Winter break: split in half, with the first half at Parent A in even years and at Parent B in odd years.
- Spring break: alternates each year, with Parent A in even years and Parent B in odd years.
- Summer: each parent has 2 weeks of holiday time, chosen by Parent A in even years and Parent B in odd years by 1 April.
- Mother's Day and Father's Day are spent with that parent.
- Children's birthdays: each parent celebrates on their own day nearest the birthday.
- Holiday time takes priority over the regular schedule; the regular schedule resumes afterwards.
Decisions
- Education: decided together. Either parent may act alone in an emergency and tells the other straight away.
- Health care: decided together. Either parent may act alone in an emergency and tells the other straight away.
- Activities and sports: decided together. Either parent may act alone in an emergency and tells the other straight away.
Communication
- Messages between the parents go in writing in one shared app, and each parent replies within 24 hours (sooner when it is urgent).
- The children may contact the other parent at any reasonable time.
- Neither parent speaks badly of the other in front of the children or asks them to carry messages.
Changes and swaps
- A change to the schedule is asked for in writing at least 14 days ahead, with the dates and the reason.
- The other parent answers yes or no in writing. A swap is only agreed once both have said yes.
- If the plan stops working, the parents review it together first, then with a mediator if they still disagree.
Costs
- Shared costs for the children (school, medical, activities, childcare) are split equally.
- Each shared cost is logged with a receipt within 30 days and repaid within 30 days of being logged.
Signed: ______________________ (Parent A) ______________________ (Parent B) Date: __________
Drafted with the free parenting plan builder at taskfamily.com/tools/parenting-plan
Mediator or family-law professional? Give the families you work with 30 days of the Co-parent plan.
How it works
The regular schedule uses the same patterns and arithmetic as our parenting-time calculator: alternating weeks, 2-2-3, 5-2-2-5, 3-4-4-3, every other weekend and school days with weekends at the other home. Summer weeks with each parent replace that week's usual pattern.
Holidays can alternate by year (even years with the first parent), be split in half, or stay with one parent every year. Holiday time takes priority over the regular schedule.
A good plan is specific enough that nobody has to negotiate every week: a time and a place for handoffs, a reply time for messages, a notice period for changes and a rule for shared costs with receipts.
In TaskFamily the same schedule runs each child's week across both homes, with handoff reminders, swap requests the other parent approves, a shared expense ledger and a record you can print.
TaskFamily turns this into a routine: chores and rewards, a savings jar that pays interest, schedules for two homes and a private family chat. One household is free; Premium is $5.99 a month.
Questions parents ask
What should a parenting plan include?
The regular schedule, handoffs (when, where and who drives), holidays and special days, how major decisions are made, how parents communicate, how changes are requested, and how shared costs are split.
What is the most common holiday schedule?
Alternating the main holidays by year is the most common: one parent has Thanksgiving in even years and the other in odd years, with winter break split in half so both parents have part of it every year.
How much notice should be given for a schedule change?
Many plans ask for 7 to 14 days' notice in writing for a planned change, with an answer in writing too, so both parents know exactly what was agreed.
Can we change the plan later?
Yes. Children's needs change with age, school and activities. Agree to review the plan together at set points - a new school year is a natural one - and write down what you change.