Memorial Day is less than a week away to further signify that summer is about to be in full swing. For children, there is no better time of the year. For divorced parents, the summer months can often be a hectic time with planning your child’s and your schedule. With that said, the summer months are often the most rewarding time of the year for a parent because of the fact that it is quite often the time where you are able to create some of the best memories with your child. The Tulsa family law of Fry & Elder recognizes the importance of summer vacation and wishes to provide you with a few tips on how to best navigate through summer child custody, vacation time and scheduling with your ex to maximize the pleasure you get out of the summer.
Come Up With A Summer Child Custody, Vacation Schedule That You Can Agree On and Stick To
If your ex and you have shared custody, you will want to set up a time to meet and go over the summer vacation plans you both have in mind for your child. There is plenty of time for you to take your child on that cross-country road trip or Disney World vacation, but if you don’t clarify and discuss these plans with your ex, you might find yourself back in court. It is important to keep communication lines open that way neither parent is left in the dark.
One good solution to make sure all parties are on the same page is to consult with an experienced Tulsa child custody attorney and create a detailed and documented summer child custody and vacation schedule that your ex will sign off on and then will be formally submitted it to a judge. This might initially seem like a little extra legwork, but it really is not. Best of all, everyone will be well aware of what the summer will entail for the child.
Double Check That You Aren’t In Jeopardy Of Violating Your Custody Agreement
Depending on what your current child custody agreement is and what you have planned for the summer, there is a potential that you could be in danger of violating your custody agreement. For instance, if you have an out-of-state trip to California planned, but your visitation and custody agreements have geographical provisions, you might want to look into getting that agreement modified. Your ex should be open to stipulating to a modification for travel, particularly if you have already planned a vacation.
Allow The Child To Communicate With The Other Parent During Your Vacation Time
Chances are your child would like to tell his or her other parent just how much fun they’re having on vacation with you. And chances are your ex will want to hear from their child and the experiences they are having. A little common courtesy between parents involving their child is never a bad thing. Allowing your child to call, email or Skype with the other parent aligns with that notion.
Provide Your Ex With Adequate Notice
Things and opportunities do come up, but you should make every opportunity to provide your ex with sufficient notice about when and where you will be vacationing. This also falls under the common courtesy umbrella and will help avoid confusion between parties.
Why Experience The Fry & Elder Difference
Whether you have questions or concerns about a summer child custody arrangement or any other family law matter, the Tulsa family law firm of Fry & Elder is here to assist you. The U.S. News & World Report has named Fry & Elder to its exclusive list of Best Law Firms from 2014-2016. The firm’s nine attorneys are some of the most accomplished in the state. In addition to family law, Fry & Elder offers legal services in criminal law, immigration law, adoptions and personal injury law.
Robert G “Hap” Fry Jr., is one of only 19 Oklahoma attorneys to be a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He also was selected as the Lawyer of the Year for Family Law in Tulsa for 2016 by Best Lawyers®. Firm attorneys James R. Elder, M. Shane Henry, Aaron D. Bundy and Fry have all achieved the highly respected AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell®, Luke Barteaux has been selected as a Super Lawyers® Rising Star™.
The firm’s newest attorney, Kirsten Bernhardt, hold the distinction of having won a judgement in excess of $10 million against Coca-Cola. Lorena Rivas has established herself as rising star in immigration law and Katie Egan is licensed to practice in Connecticut and New York in addition to Oklahoma. Melissa Fell rounds out the talented staff of attorneys.