Arizona · Alternating weekends

Alternating weekends in Arizona

The child lives primarily with one parent and spends every other weekend with the other. In Arizona this is written into a Parenting Plan, where time with a child is called parenting time.

Build this plan for Arizona — free

Template for educational use — not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state. Laws change; confirm current requirements with a licensed attorney in Arizona.

The rotation

A = one parent, B = the other. Each cell is one overnight. This rotation divides regular school-year overnights 86/14 — about 313 and 52 nights a year.
Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	A	A	A	A	B	B	A
2	A	A	A	A	A	A	A

About that numberThis figure counts the weekend rotation only. Most alternating-weekend plans also split holidays and give the other parent two to four weeks in summer, which brings the real annual share closer to 20% — the figure usually quoted for this schedule.

What Arizona expects

Arizona replaced 'custody' with 'legal decision-making' in 2013. A statutory parenting plan must state each parent's rights and responsibilities, a schedule including holidays and school vacations, and a dispute-resolution procedure.

Governing law: A.R.S. § 25-403.02.

The honest trade-off

Long the default in American courts, and still the most common order — but twelve days can pass between weekends, and the weekend parent rarely sees a school night or a homework fight. Most plans soften it with a midweek dinner.

Other schedules in Arizona

Standard Possession Order (1st / 3rd / 5th weekends)Week-on / week-off 2-2-3 2-2-5-5 Arizona overview →