Let’s face it, school letting out for the summer can make a divorced parent quite anxious. During the school year, there’s a routine in place: During the summer, there’s much less of one. This can make way for many former spouses to feel like they need to hash it out over who and when they get access to the children.
One of perhaps the most difficult things to do when you are divorced and have children is finding a time when you may be able to go on vacation. To ensure that your plans don’t get dashed due to scheduling conflicts, there are certain proactive measures you should take.
For starters, you should start discussing vacation plans with your ex as soon as possible after coming up with them. In doing so, it will allow the two of you to raise any reservations about the plans before more time or money is allocated to them.
It’s also important that, if plans change, you notify your ex right away. Also, make sure that you advise your ex of where you’re going, how you can be reached, and for how long you plan to be away. Any failure to do this may result in him or her bringing legal action against you. If a judge has to become involved in an issue such as this, in the interest of security, he or she may ultimately make you divulge this information.
If you’re one of the many individuals that has a volatile relationship with your ex, then you may find that attempting to resolve vacation plans through a divorce mediator is best. They are trained to be neutral decision makers and can work to find a solution in the interest of both parties.
As a final resort, you may elect to handle the dispute in front of the judge. However, it’s important to keep in mind that, in either separation or divorce agreements, it generally spells out exactly how you and your ex have agreed to share vacation times and how much notice you each wanted to be given prior to taking a vacation with your children.
If you and your spouse are not seeing eye-to-eye on your vacation plans or some other matter, then you may benefit from discussing your case with a Newburgh, New York, child custody attorney.
Source: The Huffington Post, “Summer Vacation And Child Custody Agreements,” Liz Mandarano, accessed June 23, 2017