While there are many grown-ups who don’t care too much about Halloween, there are those who love the holiday. Especially for the adults with young children, Halloween is a time that has provided good memories and fostered tradition.
When a divorce occurs, family norms change. A parental unit becomes two separate units, each individual with his and her own schedule with the children. It can save a family stress and disappointment to plan how parents’ schedules will fit in with certain (especially important) holidays.
Maybe Halloween is your favorite holiday. You have always loved trick-or-treating, costumes, candy and pumpkin carving. Maybe spending that day with your kids is important to you. What can you do to address that or other special occasions you hold near and dear to you?
In Florida, parents are required to create a parenting plan if kids are part of the divorce process. The plan will include details about custody and/or visitation. To get more specific, a parenting plan can include details that might serve a certain family’s unique needs and requests.
Holidays can mark important, emotional times for parents. Maybe Christmas Eve is more important to one parent while Christmas day is important to the other. Maybe the Fourth of July has its important traditions for one parent and they want to share that with their kids.
Parents can create the details regarding holidays or other special occasions that they want or with which they are comfortable. From a day-to-day perspective, that can get complicated when the regular custody arrangement doesn’t match up with the special occasion details. Hopefully, the parents involved are amicable enough to have regular, open communication about their parenting plan and the holidays they hope to share with their kids.
If you have concerns about creating a parenting plan or frustrations with a current parenting plan, feel free to discuss your thoughts openly with your trusted family law attorney. Wanting Halloween with your kids is an example of a goal your lawyer would understand and try to help you achieve.
