How should parenting time over vacations be managed? Is there a perfect custody plan for the holidays? You will likely receive parenting time depending on recognized holidays in your state if you ask your local Friend of the Court. What if the parents observe religious holidays and observe them in accordance with various religions? This may be difficult.

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The court will attempt to divide custody arrangements as equally as possible if it must make a decision. Several criteria will determine whether the court will take the religious culture into account. The position of the child will be considered by the court when determining parental time. What is the child’s age? Whether the child was brought up in a religious environment? Is keeping the religious culture alive in the child’s best interests? Things won’t be simple to figure out, but you can try. Speak to your attorney about it.

Some Truths About Child Custody and Parenting Time

The only people who can be granted custody and parenting time are legal parents. Legal parentage is conferred upon the individual who gives birth to the child. If you are married to the parent who gives birth, you are the child’s other legal parent by default in Michigan. Even if you are not the biological father of the child, this is still true.

The parent with whom a child spends the majority of their overnights in Michigan is known as the child’s custodial parent. A few article posts ago, we published an article, “How Does A Co-Parenting Calendar Work For Parents Without Sole Custody In Michigan?” and mentioned the types of custody you will face in Michigan.

The two types of custody available in Michigan are physical custody and legal custody. However, the term “physical custody” is no longer frequently used, probably because of issues about political correctness. After all, nobody actually possesses “physical custody” of a child. In Michigan law, the terms “physical custody” and “custodial parent” are now used interchangeably.

Parenting time refers to the time a child spends with each parent when they do not live together. In Michigan, a child has the right to “parenting time” with each parent unless a judge determines it will harm the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health.

Parenting time during holidays is prioritized over regular parenting time. After the holiday parenting time is over and before the normal parenting time starts, regular parenting time will resume.

If the parties cannot come to an agreement, the judge will decide how much and what kind of parenting time each party receives. Similar to custody determinations, judges base parenting time judgments on what is in the child’s best interests.

Standard Holiday Visitation: Is There Such a Thing

If someone is talking about a standard schedule for holiday visitation, they are most likely referring to a standard holiday plan the Friend of the Court (FOC) uses.

Holidays are frequently treated as “one day” holidays in the FOC schedule. Another strategy is to alternate three three-day weekends on Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day. The weekends around Mother’s Day and Father’s Day may be extended. — If religious holidays are significant to a family, they can be added to the program.

Vacations are another matter. Two-week vacations are typically “non-consecutive” when children are young. With age, children can survive being separated from one parent for two weeks at a time. Parents are typically expected to exchange suggested vacation itineraries by April or May.

If the schedules are incompatible, the court may rule that the child will live with one parent during even-numbered years and the other during odd-numbered years. In most cases, “normal parenting time” is overshadowed and trumped by holiday and vacation time.

Long vacations can be split up or rotated as a whole such that one parent could take the children to Florida, for instance. The parenting time over holidays is very flexible.

It is suggested that both parents spend time with their children during four of the eight vacations each year, switching places every year. A child will therefore spend the Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day with their mother if they spend Memorial Day, Labor Day, Christmas Eve, and Easter Sunday with their father. They will act differently the following year. It is also possible for parents to switch off on winter and summer vacations. A noteworthy example is the 16th Judicial Circuit Court General Parenting Time Schedule.

Under the Friend of the Court standard holiday plan this is how the mother’s holiday schedule will look like.

The mother will have the following holidays in even-numbered years:

[a] Easter
[b] Fourth of July
[c] Thanksgiving
[d] Christmas Day noon until noon the next day
[e] Children’s Birthdays

The mother will have the following holidays in odd-numbered years:

[a] Memorial Day
[b] Labor Day
[c] Christmas Eve/Christmas noon Christmas Eve until noon Christmas day
[d] New Year’s Day

Now, this is how the father’s holiday will look like under the Friend of the Court standard holiday plan.

The father will have the following days in even-numbered years:

[a] Memorial Day
[b] Labor Day
[c] Christmas Eve/Christmas noon Christmas Eve until noon Christmas day
[d] New Year’s Day

The father will have the following holidays in odd-numbered years:

[a] Easter
[b] Fourth of July
[c] Thanksgiving
[d] Christmas Day noon until the next day
[e] Children’s Birthdays

This is how the holiday hours are going to look.

[a] Easter 9:00 am to 7:00 pm
[b] Memorial Day 9:00 am to 7:00 pm
[c] Fourth of July 9:00 am to 7:00 pm
[d] Labor Day 9:00 am to 7:00 pm
[e] Thanksgiving 9:00 am to 7:00 pm
[f] Christmas Eve December 24 from noon to Christmas day noon
[g] Christmas Day December 25 from noon to noon the next day
[h] New Year’s Day 9:00 am to 7:00 pm
[i] Child’s birthday For a minimum of three hours
[j] Mother’s Day Each year the mother will have Mother’s Day from 9:00 am until 7:00 pm
[k] Father’s Day Each year the father will have Father’s Day from 9:00 am until 7:00 pm

Keep in mind that your holiday visitation schedule would be more flexible if you and your co-parent got along. To ensure you arrive at a decision that best satisfies your needs and the needs of your children, always try to cooperate and negotiate with your ex-spouse whenever possible.

An Ideal Custody Arrangement For The Holidays?

To say ideal is to presume whatever custody arrangement for the holidays is set, it is acceptable to both parties. Every parent would like to have more time, not less. For some, they wouldn’t even consider giving a share of that time to the other parent. Of course the courts will not allow that.

There are numerous occasions during the year when you’ll want to be with your children but they are scheduled to be with your ex. During your divorce processes, negotiations are crucial, and your lawyer can support you in creating and presenting a reasonable parenting time arrangement or plan.

The plan must be followed once it has been created, which is the most essential thing to understand. Legally and for the sake of your children, consistency is crucial. Knowing where they’ll be and who they’ll be with each week will help them manage their everyday lives because they will depend on this plan just as much as you do.

Your children are impacted by whatever you do. Above all, you need to make sure that you have as much time with your children as you can. There is a common parenting time schedule in the state of Michigan that many ex-spouses adhere to in order to keep things fair and avoid arguments, but there is also flexibility in how the time spent with your children is shared.

You may have an ideal schedule and arrangement in mind, but to start off right you may have to stick to what is recommended. What is referred to as standard. A lot of thought, effort, and tax dollars were put into it. It might be worth it to just try it out first before being creative.

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Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.