Beware of Summer Vacation Co-Parenting Conflicts
If you think it is a bummer to get home after a long day of work and spend the evening nagging your children to finish their school work, just wait until summer vacation, when you come home from work and find your kids sitting on the couch staring at their devices, as they have been doing all day, with the wrappers of ultra-processed snacks strewn all around. The only way this scenario could be worse is if your ex-spouse decides to weigh in on this scenario, sanctimoniously proclaiming that, if your children were with her, they would have spent the day doing chores and preparing a healthy dinner for the family to share. Summer vacation can cause family conflict, even between married couples who generally get along well. The thought of your kids having so much idle time is terrifying, but the activities that would take them away from their idleness are prohibitively expensive. Family travel is a nightmare, even if the only relatives who go on the trip are relatives that you generally like. Divorce makes all of this worse. If you think your ex-spouse drives you crazy during the school year, just watch your ex get on your nerves during summer vacation. For help drafting a parenting plan that will insulate you against a category 5 family conflict, contact a Boca Raton child custody lawyer.
Which Parent Pays for Summer Camp?
Yes, parenting plans prevent conflict by giving you a document you can point to if your ex-spouse tries to flake on your plans, but they do not deal with money; they are only about the non-financial aspects of co-parenting. Your parenting plan does, however, indicate how parents will apportion decision-making authority about children’s extracurricular activities, including summer camp. If your parenting plan says that you and your ex must share the decision making, you have no choice but to reach an agreement, even if it means getting your lawyers involved. If it says that one spouse has the final say, the other spouse cannot override the decision. If the deciding parent chooses a summer camp that is beyond the family’s budget and asks the other parent to contribute financially beyond what the child support order indicates, though, it is a recipe for conflict.
You Can Never Be Too Detailed About Apportioning Summer Parenting Time, but Don’t Micromanage Your Ex-Spouse
The good news is that the parenting plan prevents your ex from taking your kids to Disney World on short notice because his sister-in-law just decided that she wants to take the whole family on a theme park vacation and your parenting time is when she wants to do it. It does not, however, prevent your ex’s girlfriend from taking your kids mini golfing nearby during your ex’s parenting time, no matter how much you can’t stand her. Your parenting time belongs to you, and it is your ex’s business what to do during your ex’s parenting time.
Contact Schwartz | White About Getting Through the Summer as a Divorced Co-Parent
A South Florida family law attorney can help you rely on your parenting plan to protect you from ex-spouse drama during summer vacation. Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.
Source:
divorcemag.com/articles/how-to-co-parent-with-an-ever-changing-summer-schedule
