How Can Divorced Parents Create a Parenting Plan for Summer Vacation?

 Posted on June 04, 2019 in Divorce

Summer vacation is what students look forward to all year. However, if a couple gets a divorce, there can be much uncertainty around this time of year for parents and children alike. Without school to fill children's daily schedules, an entirely different schedule within your parenting plan may be necessary.

What Is a Parenting Plan?

When a married couple with children gets divorced, they must create a parenting plan. This is a court order that specifies how children will be taken care of after a divorce. The parenting plan will explain the amount of time each parent gets to spend with a child, and how parents will make decisions about raising their children. In Illinois, the terms “custody” and “visitation” have been replaced by “parental responsibilities” and “parenting time.” Instead of dividing legal and physical custody of children, parents may divide or share decision-making responsibilities, and each parent will typically be given parenting time with the children.

When creating a parenting time schedule for the school year, the child’s school schedule and age are often the most important factors to consider. During this time, it is important to maintain consistency and follow a regular routine. However, during the summer, kids have more time to spend with each parent, and their schedules can be much more flexible. Your parenting plan during the school year will likely need to change when the children’s schedules change in the summer, so it is smart to revisit the schedule when preparing for this part of the year.

When planning for the summer months, pinpoint the exact dates this part of the parenting plan will follow. It would be helpful to get the dates of summer break from your children’s schools for this purpose. Summer is a time for living carefree, but some structure will put everyone at ease. Since summer can be so flexible, there are multiple ways of splitting up time with your children. Some parents choose to split the summer into two long shifts. That way, each parent gets to spend a long period of time with his or her children during the summer break. Another option is for parents to swap weekends spent with the children.

Summer is also the time when people decide to take vacations. When creating a parenting plan, discuss the possibility of each parent taking the children on a trip. This can be worked into the parenting plan by specifying how many days of vacation each parent has with the children and the methods of communication used when planning or taking a vacation.

Contact a Barrington Divorce Attorney

Creating a parenting plan for all 12 months of the calendar year can be difficult, and the summer months can present a challenge for parents and children. To make the process easier on everyone, contact a Rolling Meadows divorce attorney to help draft your summer parenting plan and schedule. Call our office at 630-426-0196 to set up an initial consultation today.

Sources:

https://www.custodyxchange.com/examples/schedules/summer-break.php