What is Shared Parenting Time in BC?

Shared parenting time in BC is defined as each parent having the children in his or her care more than 40% of the time. Shared parenting time is defined by the amount of time each child spends with parents during regular school days or holidays.

Shared parenting time in BC is determined by looking at a calendar year and how much time children spend with their separated parents. Read more on your rights and obligations here.

Why Should You Share Parenting Time with Your Children in BC?

Sharing parenting time with children means that children maximize their time with each parent. It means that they get the love and affection of both their mother and father. Extensive research has shown that children who enjoy the presence of both parents grow up to be much more stable, intelligent and emotionally secure than those who don’t. They have better social skills, better cognitive abilities and better linguistics. They tend to be more comfortable and enjoy intimacy rather than fear it.

The more people love children, the better they grow up to be. The child feels secure and protected when that love comes from the child’s parents. The child will be exposed to different lessons in life and will learn different things from each parent. Fathers are just as important as mothers in any child’s life. Any attempt to reduce one parent’s time with the child often means direct emotional trauma and instability to a child and his/her life.

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Standard Shared Parenting Schedules in BC

Shared parenting schedules in British Columbia take different shapes or forms. Here are the most popular schedules for shared parenting in BC:

1. The 3/4 and 3/4 Schedule: This is a 50/50 schedule that stretches over two weeks. In week one, one parent gets three days a week, and in week two, that parent gets four days a week. So let’s say the mom gets Sundays to Wednesdays in week one and Sunday to Thursday the following week. The dad gets the rest. This is true 50/50 parenting for the children.
2. The 2-2-5-5 Schedule: This is a favourite amongst many parents, especially parents with younger children. It happens over two weeks. In week one, the mom gets Monday and Tuesday, and the dad gets Wednesday and Thursday. Weekends rotate, so on week one, the mom gets Friday to Sunday, and on week two, the dad gets Friday to Sunday. This way, each parent gets a weekend with children on a rotating basis, and they equally share weekdays. On the weeks on which a parent gets the weekend, she/he enjoys five straight days with the children, and on the weeks he doesn’t, he/she gets a minimum of two days during the week.
3. The Week on/Week off Schedule: This again happens over a two-week period. It goes something like this: the mom picks up the child from school on Monday and drops him/her off the next Monday at school. The dad picks up the child from school that Monday and keeps the child until the next Monday drop off at school. For younger children, you can set it up so that on the week you don’t get the child; you get to spend Wednesday nights with the child and vice-versa.
4. The 2-week on/off Schedule: This schedule is fitting when the parents live in different towns or are too far away from the children. It also works best for older children.
5. There are many other shapes and forms of shared parenting schedules, but the above are the most standard ones.

What Are Your Rights When you Share Parenting Time?

Shared parenting in BC brings a whole bundle of wonderful, equal rights for each parent. These include:

1. Being guardians of children. This means if one parent dies, the other becomes a guardian of the child and can make decisions for the child.
2. Sharing Parental Responsibilities for children. This means both parents must consult one another about any significant decision relating to children, including education, religious upbringing, where the child will reside and medical decisions for the child. To learn more about parental responsibilities, click here. 
3. Child support will often be determined under s.9 of the Child Support Guidelines, which sets off the parents’ incomes and provides a fair amount of child support to be paid based on the income difference.
4. Sharing responsibilities regarding homework, bedtime reading, socialization and growth of the child.
5. Sharing holidays with the child, including Christmas, Spring Break and holidays.
6. Creating equal memories with the child to the point that the child does not feel abandoned and knows that he/she has two parents who equally love him/her despite their separation.
7. Being a part of every critical stage of the child’s life, including competitions, graduations, birthday parties, mother’s day, father’s day, etc.

What Are Your Responsibilities When You Share Parenting Time?

Parents who share parenting time of the children in British Columbia have the following responsibilities:

1. To consult and discuss with the other parent all critical decisions relating to the children and devise a mutual solution in the child’s best interests. Suppose you and the other parent cannot agree on a significant decision affecting the child. In that case, you are welcome to mediate the issue, use a parenting coordinator or apply to the court for a final determination concerning that decision.
2. Disclose all your financial information and taxes to the other parent to better determine the amount of child support each year. In shared parenting time situations, incomes get set off, but income is defined as income from all sources. So if you own a company, determining your income may be more complex than being employed.
3. Be Flexible with the other parent. No matter what happened between the two of you, keep a respectful and open relationship with the other parent. It is always easier to cooperate and share the love for the child rather than fight each other and prove each other wrong. The more you harmonize with the other parent and work as a unit, the better off your child will be.
4. Only look at things from the eyes of your child and not your eyes. The best interests of the child are what drive all family law issues. What works for the child best should be your priority, not what you want to get out of a custody situation. In many parenting situations, one parent has too much anxiety and dependence on the child to let him/her go to the other parent. You have to be selfless. You must understand that this is not about you, and you can’t use your child to make yourself feel better. Your child deserves his/her happiness, and you must respect that.

Getting shared parenting rights in BC can be one of the most challenging aspects of family law, especially when you are a father wanting shared parenting. Father’s shared custody rights in BC are a very important and complex matter.

When separating, it is always best to consult a family lawyer to obtain a strategy and your rights to your children. Contact our award-winning family lawyers to get an initial consult on your shared custody in BC.