Be Sure to Account for the Holidays in a Child Custody Schedule

Over the holidays, you may need to adjust your child custody or visitation schedule to make sure both parents have the opportunity to spend quality time with their children.

Here are a few examples of some of the ways parents split holiday time after a divorce.

• Alternate holidays: You might consider alternating the holidays for which you get the children each year. For example, one year you get the kids at Thanksgiving and your ex at Christmas, and then it flips around the next year.
• Have multiple holiday celebrations: You might have multiple holiday celebrations (one with each side of the family), meaning your children will spend the holiday with both parents and end up attending at least a couple different gatherings. One of these might not necessarily actually happen on the day of the holiday, but at least it’s a chance for the kids to spend time with both parents for that holiday.
• Always have the same holidays: You might find it easiest to always have the children spend certain holidays with the same parent. This could be the easiest logistical solution, or it could be ideal for situations in which one parent places a greater emphasis on a specific holiday than the other.
• Split the day: This idea takes a little extra coordination, but you could have the children spend the first half of the day with one parent and the second half with the other. This is likely only going to be a realistic opportunity if both parents live somewhat close to each other.

For more ideas about how you can navigate the holidays with your child custody schedule, contact an experienced Long Island divorce lawyer at Bryan L. Salamone & Associates.