There are times when it’s appropriate to go to the court to ask for permanent changes to your child’s custody schedule. For example, if one parent moves, if your child starts a new sport that impacts the custody arrangement or if other responsibilities make the custody schedule complicated, then a modification might be necessary.
Summer break is one of the times when parents may need to seek a modification of custody, but it depends on the situation. For example, if you previously had a plan where you would share custody 50/50 by having your child at home one week and then having them go to the other parent’s home for a week, that might still work out well in the summer. However, if you had a plan where you would see your children only on the weekends due to their school schedule, you might want to have a more balanced plan in the summer.
How can you handle summer vacation on a custody schedule?
If you know that your children will have a summer vacation schedule that is very different from their schedule during the school year, you can plan for that in your primary custody plan. In that plan, you may set up a standard school year schedule as well as one for the summer months. Those schedules may both take into account the activities your child participates in as well as your responsibilities outside taking care of your child.
Should you modify a plan that is no longer working?
If you did not plan for the summer or thought that a single schedule would work, then you might find that it isn’t quite what you were hoping it would be. In that case, it would be worth taking the time to discuss a new schedule. While you can implement that schedule without changing your custody plan, it’s better to do it by the book and have a judge approve. That way, there will be no misunderstandings about where your child is or is meant to be. That new schedule will also be able to be enforced with court approval.
