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The rise of remote work, particularly during the pandemic, brought flexibility into daily life, allowing people to balance professional and personal responsibilities more easily. This shift made managing family obligations, such as child custody and vacation plans, more practical. With reduced commute times and the ability to work from home, parents gained more hours to dedicate to their children and plan vacations. This newfound flexibility helped families balance custody arrangements and vacation time, ensuring they could meet both family time and work commitments efficiently.
Additionally, the pandemic sidelined much of the pent-up energy directed towards leisure and fun pursuits. This redirection of focus contributed to significant revenue decreases in industries like hospitality, where travel restrictions inhibited people from indulging in their desired adventures. Travel is important to the economy, but it is important for each of us and our families. Being able to get out and see the world, whether around the block or the world, is important to us and our mental well-being.
Travel challenges in Southeast Texas
People in Southeast Texas are well-seasoned travelers. We need only look at our demographics to see that a relatively high percentage of us came from other parts of the world and eventually moved to Texas. As a result, we are people on the move and comfortable traveling for fun and business. The filing of a family law case can impact the flexibility required for many types of travel, whether by road or air, for residents of Southeast Texas known for their love of travel.
Simply planning a vacation can become more challenging due to the reality that a family court order does not always permit you to have your children during the most opportune times. For example, if you are the primary conservator of your children, then the bulk of the time you spend with your children is during the school year. This means that their kids live with you more than with your Co-parent, but this necessarily cuts off a relatively high percentage of the time you could ordinarily spend traveling with your family.
Standard possession orders and holiday travel
The most common form of custody arrangement for Texas families after a child custody or divorce case is joint custody. More specifically, you and your co-parent will likely receive the designation of joint managing conservators. This means that the two of you will be sharing conservatorships’ rights and duties about your kids. The right to make decisions for your children regarding their health, education, and overall well-being are a part of this discussion. Additionally, you also have the responsibility to care for your children and see that they have the necessities of life regarding food, clothing, shelter, and basic education.
Having a joint managing conservatorship enables both parents to share time with their children. You and your co-parent have the opportunity to negotiate and create a custody and possession schedule that suits both parties. Neither the Texas family code nor precedent obligates you to adopt a possession schedule. Attending mediation and collaborating with your co-parent allows for a deeper understanding of specific family issues and facilitates decisions in the child’s best interests regarding possession.
For instance, you and your co-parent may have typical work schedules, necessitating more flexibility or different types of possession arrangements with your children. Maybe having a week with your children per parent suits you all the better than more frequent drop-off and pick-up times. Or, it could be that your children’s schedules and their specific needs make it so more frequent to exchange the position that worked better for your child. Whatever your circumstances are, you and your family can work through them to better position yourself and your children and do what is best for them.
Hire an attorney for the best results in creating a child custody order
This is also an important reason why I recommend that parents like yourself go through family law cases and work with experienced family law attorneys during a case. Not only does working with an attorney increase your ability to achieve goals, but it also allows your family to understand your options when it comes to creating a schedule for visitation and possession; as I mentioned a moment before, family law attorneys have experience in creating Cassidy arrangements for families just like yours. The effectiveness of custody arrangements and schedules relies heavily on their customization to suit the specific needs of your family.
Looking up a possession order online may not suit your family well for several reasons. Firstly, logistical and travel considerations for drop-off and pick-up times need to be acknowledged. Creativity in scheduling is possible, but if you can’t manage these times, it may lead to frequent lateness and potential enforcement lawsuits for violating the court order.
Hiring an experienced family law attorney for custody and possession schedules allows you to customize your arrangements, giving you more flexibility than relying on standard, one-size-fits-all schedules. An attorney can help guide you by asking questions and determining your family’s specific needs. Many people do not consider these questions as much as they should and wind up with an inadequate possession order that does not provide as much benefit as it perhaps should have. One of the keys to understanding visitation and possession is that the needs of your child come the first period; if you cannot create an order that benefits your children, then much of the work you will have put forth in your child custody or divorce case will have been for not.
What is a standard possession order?
For all the talk of creating court orders that are flexible and specifically tailored to you and your family, the vast majority of possession orders in Texas either mirror or mimic a standard possession order. Many child custody orders in Texas frequently draw inspiration from the standard possession order, a template usually subject to negotiation. This order is explicitly outlined in the Texas family code. While you and your Co-parent do not have to follow a standard possession order when it comes to negotiating your own Cassidy circumstances, a Texas family court judge would likely follow us in your possession order if asked to do so.
Consider a scenario where you and your co-parent cannot agree on custody issues, such as creating a possession schedule. After attempting to negotiate your way through this subject in mediation, you were unable to do so. Next, a trial was scheduled, allowing you and your co-parent to present differing evidence regarding the significance of one possession schedule over another.
While a judge can consider your arguments and the evidence submitted as to why one schedule is more beneficial and in the best interests of your child, they would probably create a possession schedule based on a standard possession order. Why is this the case when so many different options are available? The reality is that judges typically do not want to go out on a limb and suggest position orders atypical or may not suit your family well. For that reason, a family court judge would much more likely assign to you a standard possession order that may not suit your family perfectly, but more than likely will work for the majority of families.
Why family court orders may lack tailored custody solutions
You may wonder why a family court judge wouldn’t be better positioned to craft a specifically tailored possession order after a multiple-day trial. After all, hasn’t the judge been present for the entirety of the trial? Wouldn’t they have gained valuable insight into how your family functions as well as what may suit your family better in terms of custody? The reality is that a family law judge can only know so much about your family even after an extended trial. Certainly, the judge will not know your family’s circumstances better than you and your Co-parent. If you and your Co-parent want a tailor-made possession schedule for you and your family, you are better off trying to negotiate for one in mediation with one another.
Once you make it to a trial, you are more than likely to receive a court order that is generally applicable to many different types of families. The reason is that a family court judge will not want to create an order that requires you and your family to come back multiple times for additional modification or even enforcement hearings. It is the experience of many, if not most, family court judges that the more specific it becomes, the less enforceable it is. The more you will have to consider filing for modifications down the line. The standard possession order attempts to minimize the risk that people will want to come back to court and litigate more than they already have.
What are the hallmarks of a standard possession order?
As a joint managing conservator without the right to determine the primary residence, your children will reside with your co-parent full-time throughout the year. However, this doesn’t mean you won’t see your children regularly. A standard possession order typically includes visitation on the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month during the school year for the non-primary conservator. Additionally, as the primary conservator, you’ll likely have Thursday evening visitation from 6:00 to 8:00 PM each week, allowing for brief dinner outings with your children.
In a standard possession order, holiday visitation is divided between you and your co-parent. Typically, parents alternate holidays from year to year, such as spring break, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. It’s important to note that one parent cannot have both Christmas and Thanksgiving with the children. However, negotiation between you and your co-parent may lead to alternative arrangements.
Additionally, Christmas is divided into two parts due to its length. The first half of the Christmas holiday begins at 6:00 PM on the day schools let out and ends at 6:00 PM on December 28th. The second half of the Christmas holiday ends on the Sunday before school, being back in session at 6:00 PM. As we just talked about, you and your co-parent are fully capable of negotiating for different periods in Christmas. Things only become a problem when one side deviates from a prior plan or otherwise will not agree to what you want during the settlement process.
Vacation plans and traveling after a family law case
While it is not as though a family law case will forever prevent you and your family from traveling again, it does complicate matters. Specifically, the primary Conservatory three children may not have consecutive days or weeks of possession of the kids at any point during the year. This reality alone makes planning extended vacations much more difficult. If you are the primary conservative of your children and would like to schedule a trip that is longer than a week in length, then you must work that out with your Co-parent. That’s not to say that it can not be done, but the odds are against you.
The non-primary conservator typically enjoys an extended summer holiday with the children, usually lasting at least one month. This grants greater autonomy over visitation time. Many families use this time for trips and family visits unavailable during the school year. However, it’s crucial to comply with the notice requirements in your family court orders regarding summer visitation. I recommend reviewing your custody orders before the case concludes and consulting your attorney about any discrepancies or misunderstandings. Failure to provide notice as required may result in waiving the right to summer holiday visitation.
Otherwise, a thorough knowledge of her child custody orders and a good relationship with your Co-parent can make vacationing and traveling with your children that much easier after a family law case. While you may not have all the autonomy and flexibility to pick up and go with your children whatever you would like, there are still ample opportunities for you after a family law case to travel period you need to plan and work diligently to foster a good relationship with your Co-parent.
Conclusion
Navigating child custody and vacation plans can be challenging, as custody arrangements directly impact a parent’s ability to plan and enjoy vacations. These agreements often dictate the flexibility of travel dates and destinations, requiring thoughtful consideration and potential adjustments to ensure a positive experience for everyone involved. Balancing the rights and needs of both parents and children is essential, as is understanding how custody agreements affect vacation planning. By fostering open communication and approaching these matters with care, families can create enjoyable vacation experiences while respecting their custody obligations and ensuring the best interests of their children are upheld.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
If you have any questions about the material contained in today’s blog post, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free-of-charge consultation six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law and how your family circumstances may be impacted by the filing of a divorce or child custody case.
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Other Articles you may be interested in:
- Devising a Fair & Workable Child Custody Holiday Schedule in Your Parenting Plan
- How does a judge decide custody disputes
- Possession and Access Schedules- Impacts on Weekend Visitation and Custody in Texas
- At What Age Can a Child Make A Custody Decision?
- Are Dads at a Disadvantage when trying to win 50/50 custody in a Texas Divorce?
- Sole Managing Conservator in a Child Custody Case in Texas?
- Help!! My Ex-Spouse Kidnapped my Child
- How Much Will My Texas Child Custody Case Cost?
- When Can a Minor Child Weigh in on Custody Decisions in Texas?”
- Child Custody Geographic Restrictions in Texas
Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Houston, Texas Child Custody Lawyers
The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding child custody, it’s important to speak with one of our Houston, TX child custody lawyers right away to protect your rights.
