The school calendar can create some of the most common parenting time disputes between divorced or separated parents in New Jersey. A regular parenting time schedule may work well during the school year, but what happens when holidays interrupt the regular parenting time schedule, or when the children have a week off for the NJEA Teachers’ Convention, winter break, and spring break? An experienced attorney can assist with these common parenting time-related issues.
In New Jersey, holiday and school break parenting time often supersedes the regular parenting time schedule, but parents may still disagree when each wants to spend these special days or weeks with their children.
If you have already resolved these issues with the other parent, review your divorce agreement or court orders to determine which parent will exercise parenting time with the children on holidays or during school breaks.
If you have never addressed these issues with the other parent, with an attorney, or with the court, then conflicts may arise when the holidays come around this Fall. It is best to start these discussions as early into the school year as possible to avoid any last-minute scrambling to iron out the holidays that each parent will spend with the children.
Holiday and school break parenting time schedules can be intricately detailed or very brief. There is no “one size fits all” rule for these schedules. Some schedules can outline every holiday and school break that occur during the calendar year, while others may focus only on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve/Day, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve/Day, and Easter/Passover.
After you decide how detailed or brief your holiday and school break parenting time schedule should be, the next step is to decide how the parents will divide the holidays or school breaks.
- Alternating each holiday/school break on an even/odd year basis (e.g., one parent has Easter in even years, and the other has Easter in odd years);
- Each parent exercises parenting time on the same holidays each year (e.g., one parent has Christmas Eve each year and the other has Christmas Day each year); or
- A specific holiday is split equally between the parents each year (e.g., one parent has parenting time in the morning on Thanksgiving Day and the other has parenting time in the afternoon on Thanksgiving Day).
The same approaches can be taken with respect to parenting time during your children’s school breaks. Some parents choose to defer to the regular parenting time schedule during these weeks, but others choose to outline specific schedules for the NJEA Teachers’ Convention week, spring break, and/or winter/holiday break.
You can incorporate any or all of the three examples above into your holiday or school break parenting time schedule.
Holidays and school breaks give children an important opportunity to spend meaningful time with both parents and their extended family. These days can also become a source of conflict when a court order or signed agreement does not specifically address them. When disputes arise, the family law team at Cohn Lifland can help you navigate these common issues.