Custody and Holidays – Handling Your New Custody Schedule

When you are a parent who has just gone through divorce, you may wonder what will happen to some of the most important times of the year: the holidays. The holiday season is already stressful, made more stressful by the fact that your custody schedule is changing. We are here to help you make important decisions regarding custody and work toward happier holidays for all.

Making Your Holiday Visitation Schedule  

There are some very common ways that holiday time can be shared and split amongst parents who have received a divorce. The following are the most common:

• Alternating Holidays: Some parents follow the schedule of assigning parents holidays for even years, and then swapping holidays in odd years. This means that you won’t miss spending a holiday with your child more than a year in a row.
• Splitting Holidays: If you split the holidays, your child can spend a part of the day with each parent and nobody misses out. However, you don’t want your child to spend the day traveling, so it requires coordination from both sides.
• Scheduling Twice: You can schedule the holidays by essentially splitting them over a few years. For example, one parent can have the child for Christmas on the 25^th, while another may celebrate on the 20^th.
• Assigning Fixed Holidays: Every year, you may want to celebrate a certain holiday with your child. Perhaps you choose to have them for Christmas every year, and your ex-spouse has the child every Thanksgiving – never changing.

Making Special Considerations  

Of course, there are special considerations to be made, which is where communication with your ex comes into play. For instance, you may want to schedule a short visit with your child on their birthday even though it is time for your spouse to visit with them. You may have to split 3-day weekends by alternating, such as with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Memorial Day. The same goes for Christmas, where you have to consider who will have the child Christmas Eve and who will have them Christmas Day.

Take a look at all of the holidays with your ex and you can come to a conclusion on the schedule that works for both of you without issue. It is important to arrive at a decision about these matters to lessen the stress when the holiday season arrives. Call us today for guidance with your custody case and what we can do for you.