Creating a summertime custody schedule

While it may be easy to view your divorce as the end of your association with your ex-spouse, the truth is that the two of you will likely have to continue a relationship with each other throughout the rest of your lives (particularly if you have children together). Part of this is sitting down and coming up with a parenting plan that allows you both equitable custody and visitation time. Many of the clients that we here at the [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″] work with in San Francisco find that agreeing on an acceptable visitation schedule during summer break can be especially difficult. 

There is good reason for this; after all, summer is the ideal time to plan a family vacation. Your kids are out of school, the weather is nice, and popular vacation destinations often offer specials to entice you to visit. The state recognizes that this is a unique time in regards to your custody schedule, which is why The Judicial Branch of California specifically references a summer vacation visitation schedule in its parenting plan recommendations. 

How that schedule looks is up to you. You and your ex-spouse should both consider what sort of arrangements would allow each to take an extended vacation with the kids. Some possibilities include: 

• You keeping the kids for the first half of summer break, and him or her having them during the second
• Each of you being allotted a specific month of interrupted custody (e.g., him or her June, you July)
• Maintaining your current schedule with an extended two-week period allotted to both of you during the summer

Whatever you choose, remember that you cannot bar your ex-spouse from any visitation at all during periods of extended custody. More information on creating parenting plans can be found here on our site.