Summer is Upon Us

 Hard to believe summer is upon us. Every year it seems to come faster and faster. For the kids, it can’t come soon enough. For parents on the other hand, the juggle of work, activities and finances all come to the summer ‘burn.’ Throw in a divorce or separation and all of these are amplified. Let us review some of our “Divorce Coaching’ lessons that help our clients throughout the year.
The Solid Parenting Plan
The parenting plan (custody agreement) is the part of the divorce agreement that deals with the kids. It defines custody, the parenting schedule (visitation) and other issues related to raising the children. Among other things, it is supposed to address summer vacation. However, some parents may not have a Parenting Plan yet for a variety of reasons including that they are unofficially separated or they haven’t completed the divorce process yet or they do have a custody agreement that has vague references to the summer that they find difficult to manage based on their work schedules.
Remember the Finances
When you take one household income and divide it in two, most families will simply have less money. This makes preparing for summer vacation even more challenging. Some families who sent their kids to certain camps cannot afford to do that anymore. Other families deal with a stay at home parent who is now working and need to deal with childcare issues and costs that they didn’t have before. Having less money creates stress for many divorced parents who wish to give their children the same or similar summer fun times before getting divorced.
Accept Parenting Differences and Conflicts Will Arise
Parents may have different ideas and different parenting styles when it comes to the summer.
They may have differences in their comfort level as far as being away from the children for certain period of time due to the summer parenting schedules or due to the children going away for camp. If the parents are not on best terms with each other, these differences can lead to tremendous amounts of stress and to numerous conflicts.
Look forward, not backwards. In order to plan successfully, look at any problems that might have come up in the past as far as the summer or as far as planning in a proactive way. Try to discuss and resolve these problems as early as possible before the children are off for the summer, to create as seamless a summer transition, as possible.
For more information and to schedule your free consultation, please call The Law Offices of Steven B. Chroman, P.C., at 661-255-1800 or visit us at www.chromanlaw.com. Mr. Chroman is a Trusted Advisor Award Winner and named Top 100 California Attorney’s with over 20 years of experience and local service.  You can purchase Mr. Chroman’s best-selling Divorce Workbook at: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-Divorce–considering-separation.