Child custody may be different during summer vacation

When your children are out of school for the summer, your child custody schedule may need to change. Many divorced parents create a child custody schedule around their child’s school schedule, which often fits relatively well with their own work schedules. This makes it easy for them to determine where the child should live, who should pick them up and who should drop them off.

In the summer, however, children have a lot more free time. Parents may need to arrange daycare or other childcare options. They may simply need to shift their work hours around so that they have time to watch the children when they aren’t in the care of others. Young children can’t be left home alone, so parents cannot simply continue using the custody schedule that they had when they knew their children were safely in school.

It’s best to address this in advance

It is possible to modify child custody agreements. Maybe you set yours up when your child was an infant and you haven’t adjusted it to account for school at all. Or maybe you set it up at the beginning of the school year, and the summer has thrown a wrench into those plans.

However, modifications can be complicated. They may even lead to disputes between parents if they can’t agree on what the new schedule should look like. This can be very stressful, especially when parents have employment obligations. It’s often best to set up this summer schedule well in advance, so that both you and your co-parent know what to expect.

Overall, though, it’s just wise to note that child custody is complicated. You definitely need to understand all the legal options at your disposal.