For many Duval County children, summer begins when schools let out around June 1st and ends when the school bell rings mid-August.
During those two and a half months, wonderful childhood memories—summer camps, vacations, visits to the beach, zoo and Grandma—are made.
Hopefully, children of divorced parents will not recall any summer strife surrounding child custody and time-sharing schedule issues.
With a bit of advanced planning, communication and effort from both parents, summer child custody issues can be resolved well before they become unpleasant memories for all involved parties—especially the children.
We’ll explore various summertime child custody and time-sharing issues below.
However, don’t hesitate to seek the guidance of a Family Law Attorney to address any concerns you might have regarding child custody or time-sharing schedules. Feel free to call us at (904) 567-3113 to discuss your situation.
Our Best Advice: Always Keep Your Kids’ Interests Top of Mind
Our Best Advice: Always Keep Your Kids’ Interests Top of MindRegardless of how either parent feels about each other, if both put the interests of their children first, most summer scheduling issues can be free of stress.
Approach your children’s summer months with a collaborative attitude. During summer months, some flexibility might be in order for children to fully enjoy summer activities with both parents.
By addressing scheduling issues, visitation agreements, activities and trips well in advance of summer, both parents can help create a fun-filled, happy and memorable time for their children.
Involve a Family Law Attorney if Necessary to Resolve Summer Child Custody Issues
Sometimes, relationships between divorced parents aren’t amicable. Conflicts between custodial and non-custodial parents can be resolution roadblocks—with children paying a significant price.
Enlisting the guidance of a Family Law Attorney can help resolve disputes regarding summer child custody issues you might be concerned about, such as:
Time-Sharing: During the summer months, standard time-sharing arrangements would include a timesharing schedule along with two weeks and uninterrupted time for each parent.
However, that schedule might not be sufficient for planned summer trips and activities, especially if the child wants to go to a particular camp, activity, or is required to go to summer school.
An experienced Family Law Attorney can address summer time-sharing issues during the divorce proceedings and helped create an amicable agreement with both parents.
Even if the original summer time-sharing agreement sufficed at the time, circumstances can change and a new agreement might be in order.
An attorney can help you arrange a meeting to try and resolve the conflict, can get the courts involved, and can set a formal mediation with a certified family law mediator who can help the parents reach an amicable resolution.
Out of Jurisdiction Travel: Taking a child out of state without the other parent’s consent without a court order could be considered parental kidnapping—even if the trip occurs during a previously scheduled visitation week. It’s important to get out-of-state travel consent in writing before leaving on a trip.
Child Support: As children get older, circumstances can change for both parents.
Child expenses can increase during the summer months. Additionally, both parents might find that their time-sharing schedule has dramatically changed. Possibly non-custodial parents might have increased visitation time with their children.
A Family Law Attorney could help you determine if a change in a child support order might be appropriate and provide legal assistance on modifying your payments.
Regardless if you’re troubled by summer child custody or time-sharing issues or overall child support concerns, a Family Law Attorney from the Fusco Law Group can help. Call the Fusco Law Group: (904) 567-3113 for a free consultation.