When considering child custody in a divorce case, there are drastic changes that come when the school year ends and summer vacation begins. Instead of turning a custody agreement into chaos each summer, custody mediation is a good time to break down vacations and set plans in motions for all types of events and different schedules. By working with a family law attorney, you can work out agreements on a variety of summer events. The following four types of summer events should be considered for your family. It will help open up communication and ensure that you do not lose out on key times throughout the summer.
Summer Camp
Every year, thousands of children attend summer camps and many of them are overnight camps. When your child is gone for a week or more, you can lose out on a lot of visitation if it falls on your week. This is why it's important to include summer camp clauses for any future summers that your child goes away for overnight camp.
For example, if your spouse had custody the week before camp, then the week of camp can count as a voided custody week. This prevents your spouse from just getting the next week after camp is over. By shifting the custody for a week, both parents can have equal time and the child can enjoy their time at camp. Drop off and pick up times can be arranged between the parents and based off who has custody at the time.
Work Vacation Weeks
Summer is not only a time for children to get out of school, but many adults choose to vacation from work during the warmer months. If you plan an annual weekly vacation from work, then you should integrate this into the custody agreement. By having your child during your work vacation, you can spend more time with them and possibly plan trips during your extended time off. On the reverse side, you can offer custody to your spouse for the days that are on work vacation. This can help create some great summer memories and really make the summer go by smoothly.
Even if your annual vacation isn't set in stone, a lawyer can help set up an agreement where you give at least a few months notice so that the visitation agreement can go smoothly. This will ensure that at least a portion of your vacation is spent with your child.
Time Shares & Vacation Rental
Some of your summer plans may be set in stone on an annual basis. One example of this is a timeshare or vacation rental. These rentals are typically set for a specific amount of days at a vacation location like a beach. You may want to share your time share property with your child each summer. If this is the case, then you should bring up the time share through your mediation. If the time share days do not fall on your specific days, then you may agree to adjust days for that specific period of time. This can help give equal visitation for both you and your spouse.
Summer Carnivals & Festivals
Towards the end of the summer, there are often weekend events that you may want to take your child to. Summer fairs or carnivals are great experiences to share with your child, but they often only come through town on a limited basis. To help set a custody agreement, it's a good idea to pick one specific event to take your child to. By only choosing one event, you can guarantee that you have child each year for the festivities.
Writing down a list of your summer events and activities will help you stay organized through mediation. A lawyer can also help you plan out different strategies and negotiation tactics to reach a peaceful and satisfying agreement. Contact a local professional, such as Law Offices of Gordon Liebmann.
Share
