60/40 Custody Schedules: Examples and Expert Tips

A 60/40 custody schedule gives one parent about 60% of parenting time and the other parent about 40%. One way to set it up is a weekly 4-3 rotation or a two-week version of it. Below, you'll find several 60/40 schedules, the overnight math behind them, tips from family law attorneys, and free templates to plan your own.

• How does a 60/40 custody schedule work?
• Examples of 60/40 parenting schedules
• How to find the right 60/40 parenting schedule for your family
• Suggested 60/40 schedules based on a child’s age
• Best way to track 60/40 custody schedules
• Free 60/40 parenting schedule templates

What is 60/40 custody?

60/40 custody describes a rotation where one parent has physical custody 60% of the time, and the other has custody 40% of the time. For example, one parent can have four days per week and the other can have three.

A 60/40 custody schedule shown over one month

See free 60/40 custody schedule templates for every rotation below.

Shared parenting time, also known as shared physical custody, allows parents to play relatively equal roles in raising children, even once they no longer maintain a relationship or live together. Shared parenting is built on the idea that children benefit from strong relationships with both parents. A consistent schedule also gives you and your kids a routine you can count on.

60/40 allows children to spend quality time with both parents and develop meaningful relationships. A 2002 meta-analysis of 33 studies, reported by the American Psychological Association, found that children in joint custody arrangements had fewer behavior and emotional problems and better family relations than children in sole custody. The researcher noted the results don’t support joint custody in all situations, such as when a parent is abusive or neglectful.

Inna Materese, founder of Materese Family Law, PC, describes the arrangement like this:

“A 60/40 schedule is one where each parent enjoys significant physical custody time with the child, but the co-parents don’t have the exact same parenting time. In a true 50/50 schedule, both parents enjoy approximately seven days with the child over a two-week period (seven out of 14 days/nights). A 60/40 schedule is one where one parent has slightly less than exactly equal time with the child over a week or a two-week period.”

With parenting plans, the children’s needs should come first. Also, co-parents can tweak the plans to accommodate their circumstances if they communicate well and agree on any changes.

On paper, 60/40 schedules give one parent more days of physical custody than the other. In fact, divorce and family law attorney Joseph Cadicina notes that a 60/40 schedule gives “one parent 73 more days per year.”

But, in many situations, the children are not with their parents. For example, they may be at school, in an extracurricular activity, or in daycare. In that light, a 60/40 split usually gives co-parents nearly equal opportunity, despite a different number of overnights.

Melissa Cohen, a divorce and family law attorney, recommends that “co-parents try not to prioritize achieving a certain percentage of parenting time. Instead, co-parents could consider organizing a schedule based on the child’s best interest.”

Cohen adds: “As with all shared parenting plans, the co-parents should communicate and cooperate well to make a schedule function well. Also, the parents must reside within a reasonable distance of one another.”

The specifics of 60/40 schedules can differ depending on the children’s needs and ages, plus the parents’ schedules and preferences. You can tailor the schedule to meet your needs and adjust during holidays and special events.

The sections below walk through each common 60/40 rotation first. After that, you'll find the factors that can help you and your co-parent compare them.

How does a 60/40 custody schedule work?

A 60/40 custody schedule means one parent has the child 60% of the time, and the other has the child 40% of the time. The parenting schedule can be arranged in various ways, taking into account the schedules of both co-parents. One way to build it is a variation of the 4-3 plan, which works out to about 57/43.

“There are several ways to establish a 60/40 custody schedule,” Materese notes. “Most often, we use a personalized 4-3 schedule, where one parent has most of the weekdays (the 60%) while the other parent has some weekday responsibility in addition to their custodial weekends (the 40%). Overall, one parent may have 8 out of every 14 overnights while the other has 6 out of every 14.”

On a weekly 4-3 rotation, that works out to 16 overnights for one parent and 12 for the other over a four-week stretch.

60/40 custody schedules vs. 50/50 custody schedules

Splitting time down the middle can make parents feel like they each have an equal opportunity to raise and bond with their children. However, a 50/50 split won’t work for all parents. Co-parents often need to tweak the 50/50 schedule because their work schedules better accommodate a 60/40 rotation.

60/40 is a near replacement of 50/50, particularly when one parent cannot take the kids during the week and the other co-parent is willing to forgo their weekend with the kids. For example, many co-parents with 9-5 jobs cannot pick up the children from school or handle a mid-week exchange, which most 50/50 schedules (other than an alternating weeks schedule) require. When a co-parent can’t realistically spend meaningful time with their kids during the week, they may opt to have 40% custody over the weekend instead, assuming the other co-parent has a more flexible midweek schedule.

A 60/40 split doesn’t necessarily mean one parent is with a child for longer. In many cases, the children are in school or at another event which could be considered third-party time. Summers and vacations also impact the time each co-parent spends with their children. Once you count that third-party time, a 60/40 split can come close to the quality time a 50/50 rotation gives you. Add school and activity time to your shared parenting time calendar to see how much time each of you has with the kids.

One important difference is that the parent with 60% has more overnights, even when quality time ends up close to equal. That can affect child support. The federal Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) notes that many state guidelines consider each parent’s time with the child when calculating support. Talk to your family law attorney about how your state handles it.

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What do 60/40 custody schedules look like?

One way to build a 60/40 schedule is a variation of a 4-3 week: One parent has four overnights and the other has three. You can arrange those days around school and work. Then, tailor the details so each parent gets the most out of their time with the kids and logistics stay manageable.

Cadicina, a family and divorce attorney, says co-parents can customize a 60/40 schedule by choosing which days to alternate, then working in reverse to split time 60/40.

"There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to 60/40,” he says. “For example, when both co-parents want to have weekends, they can alternate long weekends, with the kids staying with the 60% co-parent during the week. Then, to maintain the 60/40 split, the 40% co-parent can add in weekday overnights as needed. Parents need to work together and create a custom parenting plan that best suits the needs of their children and their unique family situation."

Examples of 60/40 custody schedules

60/40 schedules arrange each week, so one co-parent has physical custody for four days, and the other co-parent has physical custody for three days. That weekly 4-3 split works out to about 57/43, so it is one way to get close to 60/40.

The specifics of each family’s 60/40 schedule depend on the child’s needs and the co-parents’ schedule constraints. You can change any parenting arrangement to accommodate for third-party time, holidays, and other special occasions. The co-parents are the fundamental designers of any plan, and so long as both agree, they can change any schedule as they see fit.

You can start with a template of a 60/40 schedule, then make any adjustments you need. You can experiment with the Calendar in OurFamilyWizard. Or, your attorney can use the Custody Schedule Builder (available for family law professionals) to show you what custom 60/40 custody schedules look like.

Here are examples of the typical schedule variations and their advantages and challenges.

4-3 custody schedule

A 4-3 custody rotation is one simple way for co-parents to create a 60/40 parenting plan. One parent has physical custody four days a week, and the other has custody for three days. This schedule minimizes time away and the number of exchanges.

A 4-3 parenting time schedule can suit a family where one co-parent has limited time to spend with the children during the week. In this case, the co-parent will be with the children for the last three days of the week, Friday-Sunday. However, this means that, depending on the children’s ages, the first co-parent will probably have less free time to spend with the kids during the week; however, they will also have one extra day.

If Maya stays with one parent Monday through Thursday nights, the other parent picks her up from school on Friday and has her through Sunday night. If she has Saturday swim practice, that parent drives her every week.

In general, 4-3 can accommodate many situations. However, to make the most of this schedule, co-parents must be able to communicate effectively and maintain a healthy parenting relationship. It also works best when co-parents live close to each other.

4-3 Parenting Schedule

Every extended weekend custody schedule

The extended weekend schedule is one variation of the 4-3 schedule. The co-parents begin their schedule on Monday morning in the extended weekend schedule. The co-parent with 60% custody time is with the kids from Monday morning through Friday afternoon (four overnight stays). Then, the co-parent with 40% custody is with the kids through the weekend.

Every Extended Weekend Parenting Schedule

The 8-6 custody schedule

Some co-parents use the 8-6 schedule, where the parent with 60% custody is with the children for eight days, and the other is with the children the next six days. This means the kids are apart from each parent longer, but it also minimizes the exchanges.

8-6 Parenting Schedule

60/40 custody with alternating weekends (and midweek visits)

Sometimes, each co-parent will want to enjoy weekend time with the children. In this case, co-parents can alternate long weekends every other week. The children will stay with the 60% parent during the week. But, to even out the schedule, the parent with 40% custody will get the children for one overnight visit midweek during the week, where they also have weekend custody.

So, in week one, they will have four overnights (one midweek overnight and the three overnights for the long weekend.)

Then, when the 60% co-parent has weekend custody, the 40% co-parent will have the kids for two overnights. So, every two weeks, the 40% co-parent has six overnights out of 14 days (43%), and the 60% co-parent has eight overnights (57%).

As this last schedule shows, you can start by assigning specific days to each co-parent, then work in reverse and add midweek overnights or visits to even out the time.

Alternating Weekends with Midweek Visits Parenting Schedule

Common 60/40 custody schedule errors

A 2-2-3 custody schedule is a 50/50 split, so it is not a 60/40 schedule. It moves the child between homes several times a week. In a typical 2-2-3 schedule, the first co-parent spends two days with the children. Then, the children will spend two days with the second co-parent. And then, they return to the first co-parent for three days. In a 50/50 schedule, the co-parents swap days each week.

If the same co-parent kept both two-day blocks each week, the schedule would no longer be a 2-2-3. It would effectively be a 4-3. If co-parents don't alternate weeks, one has the kids for five days and the other for only two, about a 70/30 split.

Custody considerations for a summer co-parenting schedule

Many co-parents with school-aged children use a summer co-parenting schedule that differs from the school-year schedule. For example, some co-parents swap their schedule, so the co-parent who had the children during the week now has weekends. If work schedules allow, co-parents can choose a 50/50 split during the summer with a 2-2-3 or 2-2-5-5 rotation.

Holidays and school breaks can work the same way. Write them into your parenting plan so everyone knows which dates take priority over the regular 60/40 rotation.

Top factors to consider when choosing a 60/40 parenting schedule

Key factors include your child's age and needs, your and your co-parent's work schedules, how well you and your co-parent communicate, and how far apart you live. Start with your child's age and needs. Then, ask whether you can handle the logistics of each schedule.

Materese notes that 60/40 works best for certain types of co-parents and children.

“Children who have significant extracurriculars or childcare needs during the week will benefit from a 60/40 schedule that lets both parents be involved,” she says. “In addition, children who have better learning or homework experiences with one parent versus the other might benefit from a schedule that allows them to spend more time during the week in one home versus the other. Lastly, children with siblings in one home versus another may benefit from slightly more quality in one parent’s household to foster and facilitate sibling relationships.”

Materese also describes the types of co-parents who may enjoy a 60/40 schedule.

“Parents whose work obligations prohibit them from being able to facilitate school or childcare transportation or significant extracurricular activities may benefit from having slightly less physical custody during the week,” she advises. “In addition, parents who want to maximize their quality time via consecutive custodial days might enjoy a 60/40 schedule.”

Here are additional factors to consider when choosing whether 60/40 will work for your family:

Your level of conflict matters. The 4-3 plan can work well for co-parents in high-conflict relationships that share parenting time for school-aged children. This plan can limit communication between the parents because the parents don’t have to interact; they can just handle exchanges via school.

Materese explains this situation in more detail: “In circumstances where the conflict of the parents may trickle down to the child where frequent exchanges occur, a 60/40 schedule may help alleviate the stress to the family since exchanges can occur at school or daycare. This schedule can limit the frequency of co-parent interactions while giving both parents frequent and consistent quality time with the child.”

If every Friday exchange turns into an argument about who forgot Liam’s soccer cleats, you can move the exchange to school pickup so you don’t have to meet face to face, and keep reminders in writing. However, if both parents want access to weekend time and choose to include midweek visits for the 40% parent, then they will need to communicate and interact regularly.

• Your work schedules matter, since the 60/40 plan can be a natural fit when one co-parent works weekdays and the other works weekends. For example, a teacher might work during the week, but a physical therapist might have to work during the weekend, with some time off midweek.
• Your ability to be flexible matters. “Remember, children are going to forget things at the other co-parent’s house or need to grab something from the other house for a sport or school,” says Cohen, a family law attorney. “To accommodate this inevitability, co-parents must embrace building flexibility within their schedule.”
• Your distance from each other matters. As with most shared parenting plans, all 60/40 schedules work best when the co-parents live near one another.

Your schedule can also affect child support. Federal child support rules (45 CFR 302.56) require state guidelines to base support on the paying parent’s income and ability to pay. The federal Office of Child Support Services reports that many state guidelines also consider how much time a child spends with each parent, and as of 2016, about 36 states and the District of Columbia adjusted support for parenting time. In the most common method, known as a cross-credit, each parent’s share is figured using time with the child. The two amounts are then offset, so the parent who owes more pays the difference.

That means more overnights for the 40% parent can lower what they pay, or change what the 60% parent pays, depending on both parents’ incomes. However, this can vary depending on the specific laws and guidelines in each state and the unique circumstances of each case. For example, Indiana’s child support guidelines begin a parenting time credit at 52 overnights a year. Co-parents need to consult with a family law attorney in their area to determine how a 60/40 custody arrangement may impact child support payments.

This table compares the four 60/40 schedules above. The "Best fit" column is general OurFamilyWizard guidance on the ages or grade levels and co-parent situations each schedule may suit. It is not a court or expert recommendation, and every family is different.

Suggested 60/40 parenting plans by scenario

In family law attorney Inna Materese’s practice, a personalized 4-3 schedule is most often the base for a 60/40 parenting plan. Co-parents can also change when the schedule starts and add in midweek visits.

Here are tips on which schedules may work best as your child grows, from toddlers to teens.

Custody schedules for toddlers and preschoolers need to include short, frequent time with each parent. The Arizona Supreme Court’s 2009 parenting time guide says a child ages 2 to 3 ideally “shouldn’t be separated on a regular schedule from either parent for longer than three days.”

If work or other obligations make a 60/40 split necessary, OurFamilyWizard’s table above pairs alternating weekends with midweek visits for newborns through PreK. A guide from the Massachusetts Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) says infants “should have frequent contact with both parents.” It also says an infant “should not be away from either parent for more than a few days.” A midweek overnight is one way to shorten your child’s time away from the 40% parent. Whether overnights fit depends on your child and each parent’s caregiving history.

School-age kids (K–8th grade) can do well with the same school-night routine each week, which a 4-3 or every extended weekend schedule gives them. The AFCC Massachusetts guide stresses consistency for kids ages 6–9. That way, children “can reasonably rely on being with each parent on the same day of the week.” If Ava has piano every Tuesday, the same parent takes her each week, so no one has to sort out who’s driving.

Teens have jobs and activities to fit around the schedule. The Arizona guide notes that your teenager “will usually want a say in the parenting plan but the teen doesn’t get to choose.” A guide from the Massachusetts chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts adds that older teens “do well with many different plan models.”

The same OurFamilyWizard comparison table lists the 8-6 schedule for 8th–12th grade, with exchanges kept to a minimum. That means fewer exchanges to plan around work shifts and practices. Midweek video or phone calls can keep your teen close to both of you. If you can handle a 50/50 split sometimes, you can consider the alternating weeks parenting schedule.

A 60/40 plan may not be practical for co-parents who live far apart, as it could lead to excessive travel time for the children, caregivers, and parents, causing additional stress for everyone involved.

60/40 custody schedule templates

Customizing joint custody schedules will help co-parents work together and meet their children’s needs. Use our 60/40 4-3 custody schedule template to visualize which schedule variation will work best for your family.

Download our customizable 60/40 4-3 custody schedule template

Download our customizable 60/40 every extended weekend custody schedule template

Download our customizable 60/40 8-6 custody schedule template

Download our customizable 60/40 alternating weekends with a midweek visit custody schedule template

Why OurFamilyWizard is the simplest way to track 60/40 custody schedules

You can quit the headache of managing a 60/40 custody schedule on a static calendar. The digital parenting time calendar, part of the OurFamilyWizard app, is color-coded and lets you easily manage and customize your 60/40 schedule from your phone or computer.

Family attorney Inna Materese advises co-parents to use apps to track their shared custody schedules.

“I recommend that co-parents track their schedules on OurFamilyWizard,” she says. “Keeping a family calendar where each parent’s custodial days are clearly marked can ensure that both parents and their children are aware of upcoming exchanges and custodial days. Most importantly, plotting out each parent’s custodial time on a calendar can help ensure predictability and stability for the child at the heart of the custody schedule.”

More than just a calendar, the app gives you other features to support co-parenting, like messaging, expense and payment tracking, file sharing, and much more.

Key takeaways on 60/40 custody

The right 60/40 schedule is the one that keeps your child feeling steady in both homes. Whatever rotation you choose, build it on a written parenting plan that spells out the details. Your next step: Talk with your co-parent or attorney, then track the schedule in a shared parenting time calendar.

• A 60/40 parenting plan allocates 60% of the custody time to one parent and 40% to the other.
• A weekly 4-3 schedule (about 57/43) is one way to build a 60/40 parenting plan. Family law attorney Inna Materese says, “Most often, we use a personalized 4-3 schedule.”
• Co-parents can modify their 60/40 parenting plans to suit their schedules and needs.
• Every 60/40 arrangement needs a written parenting plan, and it works best when co-parents communicate well and live near one another.
• A shared parenting time calendar and parenting app simplify tracking and managing a 60/40 schedule.

60/40 custody schedule FAQs

Clear answers to common questions make a 60/40 schedule easier to manage. Learn how 60/40 plans can vary by state, how many overnights they typically include, and what unusual schedules you may see online.

Is 60/40 custody considered joint custody?

A 60/40 schedule may be considered joint physical custody, which California Family Code § 3004 defines as each parent having “significant periods of physical custody.” Labels vary by state, according to the federal Office of Child Support Services, so ask your family law attorney how yours applies.

How many overnights are included in 60/40 custody?

In a 4-3 rotation, one parent has four overnights a week (such as Monday–Thursday) and the other has three, about 209 and 156 a year. Your exact count depends on how you and your co-parent design your parenting plan.

How many overnights does 60/40 custody provide in a year?

An exact 60/40 split of a 365-day year is 219 and 146 overnights, which is the 73-day difference attorney Joseph Cadicina describes. A weekly 4-3 rotation lands slightly closer to even, at about 209 and 156.

Does 60/40 custody provide primary custody?

Depending on your state, the parent with 60% of parenting time may be considered the primary custodial parent. Talk with a local family law attorney about how your jurisdiction defines it.

What is an 8/6 custody schedule?

An 8/6 schedule is a two-week version of the 4-3 plan: The parent with 60% custody has eight days and the other has six, and the days don’t need to be consecutive. Because it is built from the 4-3, it works as a variation of that rotation.

What is a 9/5 custody schedule?

In a 9/5 schedule, one parent has nine of every 14 days (about 64%) and the other has five (about 36%). That puts it between a 60/40 and a 70/30 split.

Do 60/40 custody parenting plans vary by state?

Yes, each state has its own custody laws and guidelines, and they may affect how a 60/40 parenting plan is written and enforced. A weekly 4-3 rotation (about 57/43) is one way to get close to 60/40, and your family law attorney can explain your state’s rules.

Will a 60/40 custody schedule affect child support?

It may: According to the federal Office of Child Support Services, about 36 states and the District of Columbia adjust child support for parenting time as of 2016. Ask a family law attorney in your state how your plan could affect support.

Is there a custodial parent in 60/40 custody?

Some states may call the 60% parent the custodial parent, but the federal Office of Child Support Services notes that labels vary. A local family law attorney can tell you how it applies to your plan.