Tips for Summer Vacation From an Elizabethtown Child Custody Attorney

It’s summer! Time for family vacations. For most families, the biggest stress is getting everyone packed and loaded into the car on time. However, for parents who share custody with an ex-partner, summer vacation can be a minefield of potential problems. Below are tips for handling summer vacations from an experienced Elizabethtown child custody attorney.

Understand Your Custody and Visitation Order

Before making your summer vacation plans, read your custody and visitation agreement and order again. You may have forgotten a small detail that, if overlooked, could cause major problems between you and your child’s other parent. In many custody orders, holidays and summer school breaks ae rotated, make sure you have the correct schedule before you begin making your vacation plans.

Communication is Important

Communicating with your child’s other parent is the key to preventing conflicts in schedules. Communicating is also key to resolving problems before they escalate to the point of requiring court interaction to resolve them. If you and your ex cannot have a civil conversation, communicate by email. When asking for a change, be respectful and acknowledge you are asking him or her to give up some time with your child or change a schedule to accommodate your request. In return, be flexible yourself and offer to return the favor if needed.

Make Plans as Early as Possible

Scheduling your trips in advance and notifying your child’s other parent can also help reduce conflict. Because most custody orders specify certain schedules for summer break, scheduling your vacations as early as possible also allows you to get the dates you want with hotels and tourist attractions before they are booked for the summer. As soon as your vacation plans are made, notify your child’s other parent to avoid further conflicts.

Make Arrangements for Your Child to Communicate With the Other Parent

When you have your child during summer vacation, make arrangements for your child to stay in touch with his or her other parent. Remember you want to stay in touch with your child when he or she is away from you. You worry about your child and you want to hear from your child to know everything is okay. Your ex-partner also wants the same comfort provided by communicating with his or her child. Make time for your child to call his or her other parent and Skype, Facetime, or other type of video conference, if possible. This is as important for your child as it is for your ex-partner.

When Working Together is Not Possible

If you simply cannot work with your ex-partner to come to an amicable agreement regarding summer vacation, you may need court intervention. Before filing a petition with the court, our Elizabethtown child custody attorney attempts to mediate the matter between you and your ex-partner. In many cases, our attorney can negotiate and amicable solution with your ex-partner’s attorney. You may need to be willing to compromise on some things to get what you most want.

If we cannot negotiate an agreement with the other side, we file a petition with the court presenting our arguments in favor of the outcome you desire. This is a last resort because we never can guarantee the outcome of a lawsuit. However, it is sometimes necessary to file a petition with the court when a person refuses to compromise to find an amicable solution.

Our Elizabethtown child custody attorney is a talented negotiator who can often resolve the dispute without the necessity of a lawsuit. However, if a lawsuit is necessary, our Elizabethtown child custody lawyer is a skilled litigator with the experience necessary to present a strong case to the court.

Contact an Experienced Elizabethtown Child Custody Attorney

We’ve Helped Thousands of KY Families, we can help you!

When you need an Elizabethtown child custody attorney, contact Musselwhite Meinhart & Staples, PSC. Our attorneys review your custody and visitation agreements to determine what steps you must take regarding changes to summer vacation or visitation schedules. If you need to modify a co-parenting plan, we can help. We have handled numerous custody and visitation cases. Our top priority is to protect the best interest of you and your child.

Our law firm represents clients throughout central Kentucky. Contact our office by calling 270-506-4052 or use our online contact form to get more information about Kentucky child custody laws and to schedule a consultation with an Elizabethtown child custody attorney.