Shared Parenting Versus Alternate Weekend Parenting

This is one of the most contentious issues regarding parenting. After a split, there is attachment between a child and each parent, but one parent asserts primary care and residence and insists that the other parent has only alternate weekend time. The parent claiming primary care residence assumes the role of the primary caregiver and then asserts that the status quo is the other parent having sole alternate parenting time.

This results in significant pain, frustration, and, inevitably, an expensive court battle. Recently, in a case called H v D, reported at 2025 ONSC 6714, <https://canlii.ca/t/kgt79> after a four-day trial, the court ruled in favour of a shared 2– 2–3 parenting of the child with each parent.

The child was almost 4 years old. The court found, based on the trial evidence, that the child had equal love and affection for each parent, was attached to each parent, and was comfortable with each parent. 

There was no evidence of family violence. The judge found that each parent was responsible for the adult conflict and counselled them to take steps to put the child’s best interests first and foremost. So he also ordered shared decision-making despite tensions, as there was evidence of the parents getting along and making joint decisions in the child’s favour. He also ordered that the parents follow the doctor's guidance regarding medical decisions.

The winning party in this case was Mr. H, the father who brought the application. Mr. Shankar represented the father.

The case took a long time to prepare, especially with a focus on cross-examination of the Mother, along with time spent on preparing for examination of the father for examination in chief. It was essential to show his connection to the child, including the role that he played when the child was a baby. It was important to show how the father attempted to get along with the mother despite tensions between them.

Finally, the father was paying child support to the mother on his own without a Court Order when the child was in the primary care of the mother. This was an important point because, for the father, it was never about child support; it was about having a strong bond and equal time in the relationship with the child.

On a side note, several states in the United States have legislatively mandated equal time between parents and their child or children post-separation, to underscore the importance of equal time between parents and their children.

Finally, the father relied on the AFCC parenting plan, which recommended equal time between the parents and the children for children aged three and above. The mother opposed that but was unsuccessful.

We were successful in this case, and we are confident in our ability to represent clients and provide them with guidance in similar situations in Ontario.

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