Holidays and Child Custody Schedule

 Posted on May 06, 2015 in Divorce

As a parent with a custody arrangement, you are surely familiar with the struggle of planning family outings and special events around your court-ordered parenting schedule. One of the biggest concerns that parents entering custody arrangements have is how to handle the holidays. When a custody schedule is arranged so that each parent has specific days, such as alternating weekends or having the children spend half the week with each parent, one parent can miss a significant number of holidays with his or her children because of the days of the week that those holidays occur.

This is why it is important to include provisions for holidays in your child custody arrangement. You can plan ahead for future holiday gatherings and keep family traditions intact by working with your former spouse and the court to develop a custody arrangement that allows for a fair distribution of holiday parenting time.

Options for Your Holiday Arrangement

There are a few different ways families can choose to work the holidays into their custody arrangements. Each has its benefits and its potential drawbacks. As a parent, work with your former partner to develop a plan that fits your family's unique needs.

A popular option for families where the children's parents live fairly close to each other is to split the holidays. With this option, the children spend half of the day with each parent on specified holidays. Parents can choose if they want the half they take to be the same or alternate each year. For example, a family might decide that it is best that the children spend Easter morning with their mother each year because she hosts a large brunch, then go to their father's house for the afternoon and evening.

When the parents live too far apart from each other for splitting the holidays to be a viable option, a family may choose to alternate holidays. With this option, the children spend the entire day with one parent on even years and with the other parent on odd years, regardless of the day of the week the holiday falls on each year and where they would normally spend that day.

Sometimes, parents decide that the children are to spend certain holidays with one parent and certain holidays with the other every single year. This is known as set holidays. Certain set holidays can exist within a custody arrangement that also includes alternate or split holidays. For example, a family may decide that the children spend Mother's Day with their mother every year and Father's Day with their father. This is also a popular option for parents who are of different faiths and celebrate different holidays.

Experienced Custody Attorneys in Kane County

Goostree Law Group can provide you with top quality legal advice and representation. The team of experienced Kane County family attorneys at our firm are proud advocates for parents and families throughout the area. Contact us today to discuss your custody arrangement and ways to create holiday provisions that will allow your children to make memories with both parents in the years to come.