Bringing the entire family together for the holidays can be a tricky endeavor for anyone. Matters are sure to only get more complicated if you are divorced and share children with your ex-spouse, though. Both of you understandably want to spend as much time as possible with your kids on these special days, but both of you probably have the right to see them. What can be done to find a middle ground and allow you both to spend time with your children? The little ones will want to enjoy the holidays with everyone.
Going to the courthouse to get a specific holiday child custody agreement drafted is one solution, but it can be time-consuming, and will require you to dish out some money to the court for its attention. Thankfully, you can do this on your own, assuming that you and your ex can see eye-to-eye and cooperate.
Special occasions – such as the holidays – permit exes to propose their own schedules and custody agreements. You can either make this agreement verbal or written, but you will want to be fairly specific on the points that matter, such as time, date, and location. A common solution for single-day holidays like Christmas is to agree that one parent sees the children in the morning and has lunch with them, and then drops them off at the other parent’s home afterwards for the rest of the day. Although this might be contradictory to previous child custody agreements, it is fine as long as you are both fine with it.
What If You Both Aren’t Fine With It After All?
One of the most important pieces of advice in regards to informal holiday child custody agreements is to expect the unexpected. You never know when you or your ex are going to feel uncomfortable with the arrangement and feel the need to back out. If or when this happens, it is critical that you do not get flustered; keep a level head and adhere to any official, preexisting custody agreements.
At that point, you should seek out legal counsel from a professional family law attorney. At Arnold Law Group, APC, our Fresno divorce lawyers can guide you through this process and see about hammering out a modification or temporary agreement that takes the holidays into account. Hopefully, you and your ex can both find a way to allow your children to fully enjoy the season with all of their loved ones. This will be our ultimate goal while simultaneously upholding your best interests and rights.
Contact us today by calling 559.900.1263!