Parenting Time

Parenting Time is the right of your child to spend time with each parent.  The goal of any parenting time plan should be to ensure that a child(ren) has a relationship with both parents that, as nearly as possible, encourages continued parental responsibility and promotes continued parental access.  The Friend of the Court (FOC) will enforce parenting time as it is Ordered in the most current Court Order for parenting time (see Parenting Time Enforcement). 

When parents follow parenting time as Ordered by the Court or agree on a schedule devised between them, everyone in the family benefits. Parents who can agree on parenting time find that even though the family no longer resides together, co-parenting is possible. Co-parenting provides consistency, structure and support the entire family can benefit from. The Washtenaw County Friend of the Court provides useful and valuable information to parents through its Parenting Time Guidelines.

As children grow older and the Court Ordered parenting time does not fit the family circumstances any longer and parents cannot agree on a suitable schedule, a Motion Regarding Parenting Time can be filed with the 22nd Circuit Court Clerk's Office. 

Parenting Time Factors

In order to determine the length, frequency and type of parenting time, the court considers several factors (MCL 722.27a).
  1. The existence of any special circumstances or needs of the child.
  2. Whether the child is a nursing child less than 6 months of age, or less than 1 year of age if the child receives substantial nutrition through nursing.
  3. The reasonable likelihood of abuse or neglect of the child during parenting time.
  4. The reasonable likelihood of abuse of a parent resulting from the exercise of parenting time.
  5. The inconvenience to, and burdensome impact of effect on, the child traveling to and from the parenting time.
  6. Whether a parent can reasonably be expected to exercise parenting time in accordance with the court order.
  7. Whether the parent has frequently failed to exercise reasonable parenting time.
  8. The threatened or actual detention of the child with the intent to retain or conceal the child from the other parent or from a third person who has legal custody. A custodial parent’s temporary residence with the child in a domestic violence shelter shall not be construed as evidence of the custodial parent’s intent to retain or conceal the child from the other parent.
  9. Any other relevant factors.