New Jersey · Alternating weekends
Alternating weekends in New Jersey
The child lives primarily with one parent and spends every other weekend with the other. In New Jersey this is written into a Parenting Plan, where time with a child is called parenting time.
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The rotation
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | A | A | A | B | B | A |
| 2 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
What New Jersey expects
New Jersey requires parties in a contested custody case to file a custody and parenting-time plan, and its statute expressly favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents.
Governing law: N.J.S.A. § 9:2-4.
New Jersey requires its own form — Custody and Parenting Time Plan. Agree your terms first, then transcribe them onto it.
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.