Preparing for the Holidays: Child Custody & Visitation

 I’m sure the first thing you think after putting your Halloween decorations away is, “What are the family’s plans for the holidays”? This becomes a bit more complicated when you’re a blended family or are in the process of divorce or a new custody issue.
For those families, it’s best to have a year-round court-approved custody and visitation order, which includes how you wish to share custodial time during the holidays. While you can continue with a normal custody schedule (week-on, week-off; alternating weekends, etc.), this is more common when you’re dealing with lesser celebrated holidays, like the ones the kids get out of school for, but you don’t get a paid vacation day.
However, for holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, a separate Holiday Schedule is usually created. This schedule replaces your normal custody schedule for the specific holidays. There are countless ways to share holiday time, so it’s important to discuss each holiday and share which holidays are most important to you and your family.
Common solutions for sharing holidays include a fixed schedule or alternating basis. For example, one parent has the child on Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve in even years, and Christmas and July 4th in odd years and the other parent has the opposite. Or certain holidays are split the same way every year. For example, the children are with Dad on Christmas Eve from 4 pm to 9 am the next morning, and then they go to Mom’s house to get their presents from Santa.  The more detailed you are with the schedule, the less likely you will run into problems down the road.
Every family situation is different; you have to do what works best for your children. If you cannot reach a written agreement on your own, seek legal advice from an experienced professional to help you find the best solution for you and your children.
For more information on family law matters contact The Reape-Rickett Law Firm at 661-288-1000.