Summer Holiday Contact Advice for Separated and Divorced Parents

The long school summer holidays are fast approaching. Our Northwest family law solicitors offer some tips if you have been unable to agree on child contact over the school holidays.

For summer holiday contact advice, phone Evolve Family Law or complete our online enquiry form.

Dividing the days or weeks

Whether it’s your first school summer holiday after your split or your tenth year, negotiating school holiday contact can be tricky. Parents often assume that if they sorted out last year’s holiday dates with ease then this year should be equally trouble-free. That’s often not the case because:

• Children’s needs change
• Your ex may want to take the children overseas for the first time or to a country that you don’t think is safe
• You may want to take your children on holiday with a new partner and your ex-partner objects
• You can’t take as much time off work this year and your former partner won’t step up and share child care or pay towards the cost of school holiday clubs
• Your child is refusing to stay with their other parent and your ex-partner thinks you have put them up to it
• Your former partner wants to take the children on a long-haul flight to see extended family and experience their heritage. However, the plans involve a five-week trip because of the distances involved
• Your ex wants to split the summer hols into days rather than weeks so you each spend a few days each week with the children and that doesn’t suit your work or holiday plans

Our family lawyers can help you whatever the reasons for being unable to agree on school summer holiday contact this year.

Ways to sort out summer holiday contact disputes

There are several ways you can sort out disagreements over holiday contact:

1. Legal advice and then discuss contact directly with the other parent
2. Letter from a family solicitor to your ex-partner
3. Family mediation
4. Application for a holiday order
5. Application for a child arrangement order

A family lawyer can discuss the option that best suits your needs. Here are some pointers:

• Direct discussions can work after a consultation with a solicitor. The meeting will explain your rights and advise on whether the court would likely think your proposals reasonable and give information on the costs and timescales of your alternate options
• A letter from a children lawyer can sometimes quickly sort out what initially appeared to be an intractable dispute that could only be solved with a court application
• Family mediation is an excellent way to speak to your ex with a neutral mediator present to help you facilitate a compromise acceptable to both of you. Advice from family lawyers before the mediation can help you understand your rights and court options. That way you know when it is sensible to compromise
• A holiday order is necessary if you want to take your child abroad and your ex won’t give their consent. Going on an overseas holiday without either written consent or a court order could mean you are stopped at the airport or accused of parental child abduction
• A child arrangement order is of benefit because if the order says your child lives with you then the law states you can take your child on holiday for up to 28 days without needing your ex-partner’s agreement or a holiday order

School summer holiday contact tips

Here are the top tips from Evolve Family Law for negotiating summer holiday contact arrangements for your children:

1. Plan the holiday contact as early as possible

As soon as you get the school holiday schedule for the year you should start to plan holiday contact with your ex-partner. Planning needs to start early in many families as annual leave can be difficult to arrange because all working parents want time off during school holidays. It is especially complicated when you and/or your ex are part of a blended family and have the commitments of step-parents and the needs of half-siblings or stepchildren to consider.

2. Look at the wider picture

If you want to take the children skiing at Easter or want to take them on a long-haul holiday next year it’s best to look at the wider picture when negotiating summer holiday contact. If your ex is prepared to make Christmas contact concessions then maybe you should be flexible over the summer holiday plans.

3. Think about the children

When you are negotiating with your former partner it can be easy to forget to ask your children what they want or to agree to a contact schedule that doesn’t suit your children. For example, no teen will want a 9 am handover and most children won’t benefit from going on back-to-back holidays to Spain with each parent whilst spending the rest of the summer with nothing planned.

4. Be flexible

It can be hard to be flexible if you have booked a foreign holiday or if time off work for child care cover must be booked months in advance. However, it is best to listen to requests for changes to the contact regime as next year you may need a bit of flexibility.

5. Consult a solicitor

Too often parents don’t take their children away on a beach holiday to Spain because their ex won’t agree or a parent ends up with a contact schedule that doesn’t meet their needs or the needs of their child. With advice from a family lawyer and a letter from them to your ex-partner, you may be able to sort out a summer holiday contact regime that works for you and your children.

How Evolve Family Law can help

Our team of family law experts have lots of experience in negotiating contact after parental separation and divorce. Our focus is to help you reach an agreement without the need to apply to the court for a holiday order or child arrangement order.

For summer holiday contact advice, phone Evolve Family Law or complete our online enquiry form.