Summer is just around the corner and schools will soon be dismissing children for their summer break. If you are a divorced or separated co-parent, this could be the hardest part of the year to manage your custody arrangements.
If you don’t already have an official custody plan on file at the courthouse, you and your former partner will need to devise one that reflects the individual needs of your family. Below are some tips to help you choose the best custody schedule possible.
Work together whenever possible
If the split is still fresh, it may not be possible to calmly discuss how the two of you plan to divide custody this summer. Yet this is still something that must be done before summer arrives. You may need to consider other options in those cases, like using parenting apps to communicate with one another about the kids.
Consider mediation
If you remain at loggerheads with one another over your summer custody arrangements, scheduling a few sessions of professional mediation could get your co-parenting relationship back on track and help you reach an accord on some of the thornier issues of summer co-parenting.
What happens when your family outgrows the custody plan?
It happens all the time. Kids grow and change, develop interests and join sports teams and engage in other activities that cut into summer parenting time. Older teens may even have jobs and work schedules requiring them to be there for their shifts.
These are all signs that it’s time to chuck the parenting plan in place and petition the court for a modification. Some parents at this stage of the split get along well enough to make informal arrangements. But should the co-parenting relationship ever falter, any deviation from the current plan could be used against the parent in default.