Frequently Asked Questions about Michigan Parenting Time

Who decides the parenting plan or visitation?

What is a typical parenting plan?

Is there a standard schedule for holiday visitation?

Who decides the parenting plan or visitation in Michigan?

This is considered by the same people who consider custody, that is, the Friend of the Court, a mediator, or the judge. The same best interest factors are used as are used to determine custody. Hopefully, the parties “decide” these issues in the end. The FOC and the FOC referees can only make “recommendations.” It takes the judge to “decide” an issue if the parties cannot and if the parties (or one of them) rejects a recommendation.

What is a typical Michigan parenting plan?

There is no typical parenting plan. Decades ago, the mothers of young children were generally awarded custody under what was called the “tender years doctrine.” That doctrine assumed that young children should live primarily with their mothers. The tender years doctrine has been repealed, and now fathers of young children can be awarded custody.

When the “tender years” doctrine was in effect and for many years afterward, fathers often had visitation every other weekend from Friday to Sunday. These days, every other weekend often includes a pick-up from school instead of after dinner and a return to school on Monday morning. That provides three benefits:

  1. the parent picking up and dropping off at school can have some regular contact with the school;
  2. there are fewer face-to-face contacts between the parents, which helps in high conflict cases; and
  3. the weekend parenting time is expanded by one additional overnight.

Many parents also have a mid-week visit, which might include an overnight, and liberal telephone contact.

When parenting time is shared, there are many ways to divide the time, including:

  • every other week
  • two weeks on and two weeks off
  • Monday through Thursday in week #1 and Monday through Wednesday in week #2
  • Monday through Friday in week #1 and the other parent gets the weekend--then switching
  • a 2/2/5 plan where Parent A has 2 days, Parent B has 2 days, then Parent A has 5 days; then Parent B has 2 days; then Parent A has 2 days; and Parent B finally has 5 days in a row. This pattern then continues.
  • A plan where one parent has the bulk of the school year, and the other parent has the bulk of the holidays, breaks, and summer.

Parties can design their own parenting plan. Often, extracurricular events and work schedules will affect the plan they choose.

The Michigan Parenting Time Guideline

Is there a standard schedule for holiday visitation in Michigan?

The Friend of the Court generally uses a standard holiday plan which can change but is likely to look like this:

MOTHER’S HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

In even numbered years, the mother will have the following holidays:

  1. Easter
  2. Fourth of July
  3. Thanksgiving
  4. Christmas Day noon until noon the next day
  5. Children’s Birthdays

In odd numbered years, the mother will have the following holidays:

  1. Memorial Day
  2. Labor Day
  3. Christmas Eve/Christmas noon Christmas Eve until noon Christmas day
  4. New Year’s Day

FATHER’S HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

In even numbered years, the father will have the following days:

  1. Memorial Day
  2. Labor Day
  3. Christmas Eve/Christmas noon Christmas Eve until noon Christmas day
  4. New Year’s Day

In odd numbered years, the father will have the following holidays:

  1. Easter
  2. Fourth of July
  3. Thanksgiving
  4. Christmas Day noon until the next day
  5. Children’s Birthdays

Holiday Hours

Easter 9:00 am until 7:00 pm
Memorial Day 9:00 am until 7:00 pm
Fourth of July 9:00 am until 7:00 pm
Labor Day 9:00 am until 7:00 pm
Thanksgiving 9:00 am until 7:00 pm
Christmas Eve December 24 from noon until Christmas day noon
Christmas Day December 25 from noon until noon the next day
New Year’s Day 9:00 am until 7:00 pm
Child’s birthday For a minimum of three hours
Mother’s Day Each year the mother will have Mother’s Day
from 9:00 am until 7:00 pm
Father’s Day Each year the father will have Father’s Day
from 9:00 am until 7:00 pm

The FOC schedule often considers holidays to be “one day” holidays. Another approach is to have Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day be three day weekends which would then alternate. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day could be whole weekends. -- Religious holidays can be added to the schedule if they are important to a family.

Long breaks can be alternated as a whole (so that one of the parents could take the children to Florida, for example) or they can be split. There is much flexibility with regard to holiday parenting time.

Vacations are a separate subject. When children are young, two week vacations are normally “non-consecutive.” As children get older, they can tolerate being away from one of the parents for two weeks at a time. Usually, parents will be expected to exchange proposed vacation schedules by April or May. If those schedules conflict, a judgment can provide that one parent gets his/her wish in even-numbered years, and the other parent gets his/her wish in odd-numbered years.

Holiday and vacation time generally trumps and supersedes “regular parenting time.”