Connecting Nests

Florida · 2-2-5-5

2-2-5-5 in Florida

Each parent has the same two weeknights every week, and the weekends alternate — so each parent gets a five-night block every other week. In Florida this is written into a Parenting Plan, where time with a child is called time-sharing.

Build this plan for Florida — 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 Florida.

The rotation

A = one parent, B = the other. Each cell is one overnight. This rotation divides regular school-year overnights 50/50 — about 182 and 182 nights a year.
WeekMonTueWedThuFriSatSun
1 AABBAAA
2 AABBBBB

What Florida expects

Florida uses 'time-sharing', not custody or visitation, and requires an approved Parenting Plan in every case involving minor children. The statute expects the plan to describe how parents share daily tasks, the time-sharing schedule, designation of who handles school and health care, and the technologies used to communicate with the child. Florida moved to a rebuttable presumption of equal time-sharing in 2023.

Governing law: Fla. Stat. § 61.13(2)(b).

Florida requires its own form — Family Law Form 12.995(a) — Parenting Plan. Agree your terms first, then transcribe them onto it.

The honest trade-off

The best of both worlds for many families: every Monday-Tuesday is Mom's and every Wednesday-Thursday is Dad's (or the reverse), so activities and childcare land on the same days forever, and nobody goes more than five nights without the child. Fewer exchanges than 2-2-3 and far more predictable than alternating weeks.

Other schedules in Florida