Are You Ready for Holiday Child Custody Arrangements?

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For children, the best possible holiday season usually means spending time with everyone in their family. If you have gone through a divorce this year, though, child custody and visitation agreements might make it difficult to bring the family together on a specific date. What can you do to make certain the holidays are merry and bright, and within legal boundaries as set by your divorce order?

Informal Agreements May Be Possible

Imagine a situation in which your ex-spouse has custody of your children the entire week of Christmas, a holiday your family has always loved. It can be heartbreaking to know you will not see your kids for the heart of the celebration. However, if you have maintained a healthy relationship with your ex-spouse, then you might be able to come up with an informal solution.

For the most part, family law courts in California are not against ex-spouses from interacting with one another, as long as there is no history or fear of domestic violence, financial manipulation, and so forth. In such cases, the court may even strictly prohibit unsupervised interaction, anyway. Assuming you are comfortable with doing so, you can contact your ex-spouse to discuss an informal and temporary arrangement for the holidays, such as a swap of custody for one day, like Christmas Eve. Or, perhaps a parent without visitation permitted in that time could gain special visitation for a few hours on Christmas Day? The options are up to you.

You should use an ounce or two of caution when deciding upon an informal agreement, though. Without any legal backing, your ex-spouse could renege without warning and without any fear of consequence. You could end up traveling miles and miles to see them for the holidays, as you discussed, only to be turned back when you get there and with no real legal foundation to argue your point.

Reliable Guidance From Orange County Family Law Attorneys

Rather than coming up with an informal solution on your own, you should contact Sullivan Law & Associates. Our Irvine child custody lawyers can help you decide the best route to choose that will enable your children to see both parents for the holidays. We can even advise and represent you if it is not the right idea for your ex-spouse to see your kids, but they are being insistent about doing so.

Get more information about our representation and your child custody or visitation options during the holidays by calling (949) 565-2793 today.