Custody handover planner

How to plan your handovers

1. Open Edit settings on a phone or tablet. Choose your recurring custody pattern, enter A/B overnight codes or import a complete share link from a supported custody calendar.
2. Check the first overnight date, calendar year and parent names. The first code belongs to the starting date; the tool does not assume a handover before it.
3. Select the actual school weekdays. Add inclusive no-school ranges for school holidays, closures or other exceptions. Nothing is imported from a school calendar automatically.
4. Set the agreed school pick-up time and place, then the ordinary handover time and place. The sample values are editable examples, not recommendations.
5. Check the list against your agreement. On a phone, choose a week or use Previous week and Next week. Save on this device, share, print the complete year or download the handover calendar.

How it works

A handover occurs when two adjacent scheduled overnight dates have different parents. The incoming parent collects the child on the second date. Dates before your start are blank, so the first scheduled overnight date does not create a handover. A parent change on 1 January is included when the previous overnight date is also scheduled; next year's 1 January is excluded.

The A/B pattern repeats one position per calendar date. Transitions across the end of a cycle count just like transitions within it. A constant custom pattern containing only A or only B has no parent changes. In the 2-2-3 pattern, six changes occur over the interval after the start through the same date two weeks later, including the change at that cycle boundary.

School pick-up applies only when the date is on a selected school weekday and outside every no-school range. Both the first and last no-school dates count as exceptions. Uncheck every weekday if all handovers use the ordinary time and place. School settings change the handover route without changing overnight assignments or parenting-time percentages.

Import reads the share fragment locally without fetching or opening the supplied address. It supports the custody schedule maker, dedicated 2-2-5-5 and 3-4-4-3 calendars, and this planner. Calendar imports preserve names, pattern, starting date, year and ordinary handover time; your school rules stay editable. A planner link also preserves its school rules. Weekend-visit and holiday-split links do not define a complete recurring overnight schedule, so they cannot be imported.

The calendar file includes one event at the agreed local handover time, with the place included. It uses floating local times and does not invent a duration. Check the imported dates, locations and time zone in your calendar app. Repeated imports may create duplicate events, so consider using a separate calendar.

Your inputs and saved settings remain on your device. Anyone receiving a share link can read its names, locations and no-school dates. Use initials and general location labels when appropriate. This tool does not assess the child's needs, alter an agreement, infer legal rights or apply holiday custody overrides. Check your agreement or order and speak to a family lawyer before acting.

Worked example

Use the 2-2-3 pattern shown above, starting Monday, 4 January 2027:

• The first three parent changes are Wednesday, 6 January (A to B), Friday, 8 January (B to A) and Monday, 11 January (A to B).
• The next changes are 13, 15 and 18 January. There are six transitions in the 14-day interval after 4 January through 18 January, including the wrap into the next cycle.
• The full 2027 list has 155 parent changes. The starting overnight date is not an extra handover.
• With Monday to Friday selected as school days and no exceptions, the first three changes use the example school pick-up time of 15:00 at School. Adding 6 January as a no-school date changes that event to the example ordinary time of 18:00 at Agreed handover place, with B still receiving the child.

Common questions

Related tools

• Custody schedule maker
• 2-2-5-5 custody calendar
• Holiday split planner: Canada
• 3-4-4-3 custody calendar