Examples of traditional custody schedules are the week-on/week-off model, or a schedule that allows one parent to have visitation every other weekend. Traditional schedules will alternate holiday visitation and may have provisions allowing for the mother to have visitation on mothers day and the father on fathers day. These custody schedules may work great for parents who work regular hours, but entrepreneurs typically do not work regular hours. What can a business owner do to ensure he or she still gets meaningful visitation with their child?
Get creative. There is no rule that you must abide by these more traditional custody schedules. If you reach an agreement on custody in your separation agreement, then you can come up with a tailor-made custody arrangement that fits your unique schedule.
For instance, if your entrepreneurial responsibilities are going to keep you unreasonably busy during September and October, create an arrangement where you have less visitation during those months but have more in August and November. Or, if your business keeps you busy during most weekday evenings, try and arrange a schedule that allows you to pick up the children at your former spouse’s house in the mornings so you can treat the kids to breakfast and take them to school.
These are just two examples of ways you can mold a custody schedule to suit unique needs, each entrepreneur has different scheduling issues to work around, but it is possible to find some time to devote to your children. The good news is that although being an entrepreneur requires working more hours than most, many entrepreneurs are in control of their own schedules and can be more flexible when it comes to spending time with their children.
Don’t assume that you have to stick to one of the more common custody schedules –consider a schedule that it fits your untraditional working hours.
