Child Custody, what to know.

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First, let's talk about the difference between Shared Parenting and Visitation:

The major difference between Shared Parenting and Visitation is the amount of time the parents spend with the children​, however the designation can affect child support as well.​

In a typical Shared Parenting scenario, both parents have approximately equal visitation time with the children. However, one parent can be designated as the residential parent for school placement purposes, or for medical decisions, or a variety of other circumstances. Shared Parenting usually means both parents want to be equally in the children’s lives, or given a certain work schedule "can" be in the children's loves as much as possible. 

Therefore, the parents are usually willing to agree to the various scenarios regarding school placement, religion, holidays, birthdays, etc.​

Visitation on the other hand, limits one party's time with he child or children. One person is designated as the residential parent and typically as the legal custodial parent as well. There are visitation plans that each court offers, based on the local rule, in which there are limited choices of visitation plans. For example, in Franklin County, the most common visitation plan is a visitation of one day during the week, after school, for a set period of time or over night, and every-other weekend to begin on Friday afternoon and end on Sunday evening. 

Holidays are encouraged to be agreed upon but he parties. However, in the event the parties cannot agree on a holiday schedule, each court offers a local rule that lays out a holiday schedule for the parents to follow. 

See the following Local Rules: