The holidays are here and, before you start planning your Thanksgiving dinner or decking the halls, you should fully understand your holiday visitation plan. The better you understand it or clarify any of its vague language, the better you can reduce conflicts with your co-parent. Although most custody agreements address holiday visitation, they do not always specifically outline every detail, so if something is unclear and needs attention, now is the time to take care of it.
Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Holiday Visitation Questions
If you recently finalized your divorce, it might be apparent that your parenting plan does not address every issue as well as it should and that a lot is left to interpretation. Unfortunately, this can create a lot of problems as you try to navigate the holiday season.
To add some clarity to your situation, we compiled a list of answers to the most frequently asked questions:
- What should I do if my custody order does not specify holiday vacation times? You should request a modification of your current custody order to specify holiday vacation times. Additionally, if one of you wishes to take the children traveling for the holidays, the modification can also stipulate that the traveling parent must provide the location for the trip.
- How are holidays commonly divided? Everyone’s situation and needs are different, so there is no one-size-fits-all for how to approach holiday visitation. However, some formats are more common than others. Some of the most common approaches for dividing the holidays with the children include alternating between years, splitting each holiday in half, or permanently assigning specific holidays to one of the parents.
- What happens if it is my holiday with the children, but it is his weekend for visitation? If Christmas fell on a Saturday and it happens to be your former spouse’s weekend with the children, holiday visitation rights would supersede your ex’s regular parenting days.
- If we recently modified the child custody order without addressing holiday visitation, do we need to make a new one? If your new child custody order does not address how you will divide the holiday season with your kids, you will need to either go to court to create a new one or agree to a schedule. If your previous schedule worked, you might want to stick to it and have it approved by a judge to avoid future complications.
Discuss Your Case with an Experienced Child Custody Attorney Today!
If your current holiday visitation schedule or custody order is not working for you, now is the time to make some changes to it. At the Law Office of Nicholas T. Exarhakis, our child custody attorney has the knowledge and experience to effectively assist you throughout the process, so you can obtain the results you need. No case is too complex for our team to handle.
Contact our law office today at (410) 593-0040 to discuss the details of your case during a free initial phone consultation.