With the school year coming to a close and summer fast approaching, parents are likely putting the finishing touches on their summer plans. For some parents, this means planning family vacations. For others, it means dilemmas related to a custody order.
Even with a vacation or holiday schedule in place, divorced or separated parents may encounter issues when attempting to spend their summer with their children at specific dates and times. If you are currently dealing with issues or disputes regarding your custody order and vacation schedule, it is important to understand how you could resolve this matter before it ruins everyone’s summer plans.
Creating a summer schedule
Although it is predictable that your children will have off from school each summer, how the summer is spent can be unpredictable. With each passing year, the interests of your child are likely to change. Thus, you cannot always expect to sign your kids up for camp, sports or summer school each summer. Additionally, as a parent, you may have more or less vacation time or the opportunities or needs to travel to certain destinations can vary.
While it can be challenging to set an exact custody summer schedule, it is important to reach terms when it comes to a set number of days or weeks. And if issues or scheduling conflicts do occur, it is important to establish how they will be resolved or treated. For example, you could provide the opportunity for virtual visitations during that period of time.
Resolving custody matters
Whether you negotiated, mediated or litigated to reach your current custody order, it is important to establish a way to resolve your disagreements. With regards to disagreements or conflicts with the summer schedule, it can be beneficial to mediate the matter if you are unable to negotiate a resolution on your own. Often, a neutral third party can help facilitate a resolution and help the parties avoid going to court to resolve the matter.
Child custody, holiday schedules and summer break could give rise to various disagreements. If you are having difficulties resolving your custody disputes, it is important to understand your situation and rights. A legal professional can help you assess your options, such as mediation, custody modification or enforcement of your current order.