Settling on child custody arrangements during the holiday season is easier said than done. You have one set of plans in mind, but your ex-spouse may have another. This can lead to a variety of concerns, all of which you need to work through as quickly as possible.
Here are three potential holiday child custody disputes to plan for:
- Traveling with your children: If you have plans to take your children out of town, such as to visit relatives in a different part of the country, discuss it with your ex-spouse first. Also, refer to your custody agreement to ensure that you’re permitted to do so.
- Sharing time: You’ll want to spend as much time as possible with your children during the holidays. The other parent will likely feel the same way. If your parenting agreement spells out how to share time during the holidays, rely on this to keep you on track.
- Gifts: This sounds harmless enough, but disputed gifts can cause a lot of stress during the holidays. For example, if your ex asks you not to buy a particular gift but you do so anyway, an argument could ensue.
You want to spend quality time with your children during the holiday season. You don’t want to spend several weeks or months arguing with your ex-spouse and tangled up in child custody disputes.
Give yourself enough time to figure everything out. Once you have a plan in place, stick with it no matter what. If a dispute comes to light, do your best to resolve it without any additional bad feelings coming to light.
