You have a teenager, and one of the things they’ve made abundantly clear is that they don’t want to be beholden to a specific custody schedule. You and your ex-spouse live close together, and your child can drive, so making them stick to a custody schedule isn’t easy.
In this case, you think it may be best if you have a flexible schedule. Is that something the court would approve, though, and if not, what would be a better option?
Teen custody arrangements
Teen custody arrangements can be tougher than most, especially if your child is already driving. To help make things a little easier, it may help to sit down with your teen and talk about the importance of a schedule that you can follow. The purpose of a custody schedule is to be sure you and your ex-spouse know where your teen is during the day or overnight. It also helps you stay in communication.
If your teen has activities or work that makes it less reasonable to have a strict schedule, then you may want to address this in your parenting plan. For example, you could set up a schedule where your child stays at one home or the other for one or two weeks at a time. Then, in your parenting plan, you could agree to flexibility, putting into place requirements for calling the other parent if your teenager won’t be at the noted home and will be staying with the other parent.
A custody schedule like this works better if you and your ex-spouse are on good terms, because it will require significant interaction to make it work. You will need to keep open lines of communication at all times.
Will a judge in Georgia approve such a flexible case? If it’s in your child’s best interests, yes, usually. However, you should plan to have a basic schedule in place even if you do allow for flexibility due to the activities or work that your child does. That way, the court will know that your child is being taken care of and that a good plan is in place.