Why Divorced Families Need A Holiday Custody Schedule

The holidays have come and gone, and if you are a divorced or separated parent who celebrated their first holiday without your children, it can be a tough time. It can be tough to deal with custody issues during the holidays, especially if you do not have a proper holiday custody schedule. This is typically a point brought up during custody negotiations. However, if you did not do that, now is a good time to think about it as a new year begins. The following are some reasons why you should have a holiday custody schedule:

You Can Review the Plan as Things Change

Whether you are just setting up your holiday custody schedule or have had one in place for a while, you need to have an actual schedule in place that you can reference from year to year. As your children get older, you or their other parent gets remarried or moves, or any other major changes take place, you can revisit your official holiday custody schedule and adjust it as necessary.

You Can Better Communicate with the Other Parent

A holiday custody schedule not only keeps everyone organized to know what is going on ahead of the holidays, but it also helps to keep you and the child's other parent on good communication terms. Communicating early about your holiday plans helps to avoid major issues or misunderstandings that could arise during a busy holiday season. When both you and the other parent are communicating healthily and staying on the same page, the holiday season will be better for everyone.

The Holidays Will Be Better for Everyone

At the end of the day, good communication and proper planning using the holiday custody schedule will improve the holiday season for the parents and the kids. The schedule will help ensure all important events are taken into account, no crucial religious traditions are overlooked, and improve the actual logistics of the holiday. This can include traveling to and from one parent's home to the other. You can also include who is buying what types of gifts for the kids, where the kids will eat specific holiday meals, and any other pertinent information that is important to your family.

If you have not yet put together your family's holiday custody schedule, take some time early this year to work on this with your child's other parent. Talk to your divorce attorney to ensure the custody schedule is properly in place and everyone is on the same page.

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