Returning to the Regular Parenting Plan After Winter Break

 Posted on January 03, 2019 in Divorce

With New Year’s and the holiday season now in the rearview mirror, children will soon go back to school. Winter break is a great time to enjoy days with your children and celebrate together. With your child being off from school for multiple weeks, hopefully your parenting plan worked sufficiently for you and your ex-spouse as you navigated the packed schedule. 

Parenting plans should be formulated during the initial divorce process. They detail when a child gets to spend time with each parent and provide instructions for situations like extracurricular activities, holidays, and day-to-day life, such as exchanges of parenting time and a child's educational needs.

There are many ways to split time between two parents when a child is off from school. With important holidays during winter break such as Christmas and New Year’s, that can alter how time with your child is organized. For example, one holiday may be spent with one parent, and then switched to the other for the next. Another way of organizing a parenting plan during your child’s winter break is to have the majority spent with one parent, and the important family holiday with the other. 

Winter breaks for school-aged children can last for weeks, so it is easy to fall into a different routine. Here are some tips for getting back into the swing of your normal parenting plan: 

Communication with Ex-Spouse

Good communication goes a long way when it comes to co-parenting. Make it a goal this year to communicate better with your ex to benefit your child and everyone involved. Remind your child about the return to the regular schedule, and communicate with your ex about any mistakes or discrepancies with the switchover. Kind reminders to your ex about a resuming sports season and pick-up schedules can mean a lot.

Update Your Parenting Plan

Under Illinois law, the parenting plan you filed with the court provides the rules to live by. If you and your ex have made changes to your parenting plan, it is important to update it with the court to prevent any future disagreements. If your spouse says one thing, but the plan says another, it is the plan that must be followed. Changes made without official documentation are not enforceable.

Contact a Rolling Meadows Divorce Attorney

If you need assistance in creating and implementing parenting plan modifications, contact an experienced Palatine family law attorney at A. Traub & Associates to organize your family’s ever-changing needs. Call 630-426-0196 to set up an initial consultation today.

Source:

https://www.custodyxchange.com/articles/parenting-plan.php