Pick a pattern, choose who has the first night, and get a colour-coded 12-month calendar with the overnight split worked out — then download an .ics file so the whole schedule appears in each parent’s phone calendar. Free, no signup, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
Each parent keeps the same two weekdays every week and weekends alternate. The most popular 50/50 for school-age children.
Parent A: 184 overnights / year (50%)Parent B: 182 overnights / year (50%)
A printed schedule stops arguments about which day. A written parenting plan stops arguments about everything else — holidays, exchanges, swaps, decision-making. The fillable agreement in the Complete Co-Parenting Kit includes a ready-made schedule section: paste this rotation in and complete the rest in one evening.
Start with the pattern you are considering — the numbers describe consecutive overnights, so 2-2-5-5 means two nights with one parent, two with the other, then five and five. Set the start date to the first handover and choose which parent begins. The calendar shows exactly how every week of the next twelve months falls, which makes it much easier to spot problems (a parent always missing the same weekday, or long stretches around holidays) before anything is written down.
The overnight split matters because courts and child support calculations generally count nights, not days. Two schedules that both feel “shared” can produce very different percentages — the generator shows the true figure for a full year, including how the pattern interacts with the extra day in a leap year.
When you have settled on a pattern, the next step is putting it in writing. Our free Parenting Plan Builder turns your chosen schedule into a draft written agreement, and the Holiday Planner handles school breaks and special days, which regular patterns don’t cover.
Schedules this tool supports
Every pattern below can be selected in the tool. Each links to a page with the two-week calendar, overnight count, exchanges, age guidance and the wording for your parenting plan.
Not sure which to pick? Start with the custody schedule comparison, which lines all of them up by age, overnight split and number of exchanges.
Frequently asked questions
How do I put a custody schedule into Google Calendar or Apple Calendar?
Choose your pattern and start date above, then download the .ics file for each parent. Opening the file on a phone or computer adds every overnight for the next 12 months to that parent’s calendar, so both households see the same schedule.
How is the parenting time percentage calculated?
The tool counts overnights across a full year — the method most courts and child support formulas use — and shows each parent’s total as a number of nights and a percentage. Patterns like 2-2-3 and 5-2-2-5 come out at 50/50, 4-3 at roughly 57/43, and every-other-weekend at roughly 80/20.
Which schedule is best for young children?
Shorter rotations such as 2-2-3 are usually preferred for toddlers because the child is never away from either parent for more than three nights. Older children generally cope well with longer blocks such as 5-2-2-5 or week-on/week-off, which mean fewer handovers.
Does this create a legally binding arrangement?
No. It is a free planning aid. Once you have agreed a pattern, record it in writing in a parenting plan covering schedules, holidays, communication and decision-making — it is not legal advice and does not create a binding arrangement.
This tool provides general information for separated parents in the United States. Custody law varies by state. It is not legal advice and does not create a legally binding custody order. Consult a family law attorney in your state before signing or relying on any agreement.
Put it in writing, properly
The Complete Co-Parenting Kit gives you the fillable parenting agreement, a section-by-section completion guide, the 30-Day Reset workbook and 20 ready-to-send message scripts. Most parents finish the agreement in one evening.