Depending on your custody arrangement, you may have big plans to spend a summer vacation with your child. While that can be a fun and exciting opportunity, you need to keep your child custody agreement in mind.
You can’t unilaterally make a decision to take your child on vacation. Instead, you must follow the details of your parenting and child custody agreements while also communicating your intentions to the other parent.
Here are some of the many tips you can follow to ensure that child custody challenges don’t get in the way of your summer vacation plans:
- Settle on a schedule as soon as possible. Not only should you do this, but you should also share your schedule with the other parent. This goes a long way in putting any issues to rest before they turn into something much more serious.
- Review the details of your custody agreement. You need to know your agreement inside and out, such as if there are any geographical limitations. It’s possible that you are not permitted to travel with your child outside of the country, state or local jurisdiction.
- Share the details. You don’t have to provide the other parent with details regarding everything you’ll do on your trip, but it’s respectful to keep him or her in the general loop of your plans.
- Exchange custody and discuss any final details. You don’t want to make this any more stressful than it has to be. Instead, exchange custody, provide any final details and ask the other parent if they have any questions. This isn’t a time to argue, so keep the conversation calm and on track.
- Let your child stay in touch with the other parent. This is an absolute must, as you never want to hold your children back from contacting their other parent if it’s something they want to do. From phone calls to text messages, there are many ways of catching up.
You’re looking forward to an enjoyable summer vacation with your child, so you don’t want any issues regarding custody to mar the experience.
Once you have the basics of your trip in place, review your custody agreement and discuss everything with the other parent. As long as you know your legal rights, you should be able to plan a trip that you and your child will enjoy.