Spring break is sort of like a holiday for children in school, as they get an entire week free of classes, homework, or obligations. For parents, spring break can be a precious time to spend more hours with the children than normal. Yet in a divorce, spring break can become a time of contention. Who gets to spend the extra time with the children?
Divorce attorneys suggest that individuals arrange for spring break in their child custody agreements or schedules. If the parents are co-parenting, or if they are arranging a visitation schedule for the non-custodial parent, spring break needs to be factored in. This way, the parents can adhere to a previously decided upon agreement. As a result, they will know exactly what to expect when this exciting time comes up.
If parents fail to discuss spring break, they have several options. Parents may want to maintain their schedule as normal, especially if they split up the week with the children. This means that if one parent has the children Sunday through Wednesday, and the other parent has the children Thursday through Saturday, then they may want to maintain this pattern, splitting the spring break time evenly.
Some parents may have to work during spring break, and they may even give over their custodial time to the other parent in order to make sure that the children are well taken care of. In other circumstances, parents may want to arrange a fair trade for the spring break week. For example, one parent may take time off of work to spend with the children, and in exchange the other parent will get the children for all of their fall break. Some parents alternate by year, meaning that one parent will have the children this year for spring break, but next year the alternative parent will have them.
It is important to note that you must clear it with the courts if you plan to travel with your children over spring break. If you take the children out of the state on vacation, the court needs to be informed. In some situations, the authorities may suspect that you are kidnapping the children from their other parent. You may need to clear vacations with the court months or even years in advance, meaning that it is impossible for you to take the kids on a whim trip while they are on break. It is important that you discuss this with a lawyer if you intend to take the children somewhere during this special time.
Also, it is important to keep in mind that Easter is coming up. You will want to carefully decide who gets the children on this exciting holiday. Once again, this should have been decided in your child custody or visitation schedules during the divorce procedure. If for some reason this major holiday slipped through the cracks, then you will want to get a lawyer to help you negotiate this holiday immediately.
Holidays can become a serious point of contention in divorce, and individuals can become upset and frustrated when they don't get to spend the holidays they love with their children. Having an attorney on your side is the best thing that you can do in your case. A legal representative can help to negotiate with the other party while maintaining your legal rights. You are legally entitled to seek holiday time with your children, though you will ultimately have to adhere to the schedules decided in your divorce agreement. You can also request a modification if your current custody schedule has become difficult to keep. Contact an attorney for more information!