As part of your general parenting plan for co-parenting after the divorce, you and your spouse will have to develop a timesharing schedule. This is also called a residential or visitation schedule or agreement, and it essentially schedules your child’s residential time.
In this timesharing schedule, day-to-day residential arrangements for the school year will be outlined in detail, as will arrangements for when your child is on break from school.
When you sit down to work out this schedule with the other parent, make sure to have your child’s school break schedule on hand. If you wish to keep the timesharing schedule the same for school breaks, you can simply note that in the schedule and continue on as you would.
If you want to have a different arraignment for when your child is not in school, and this is often necessary for child care purposes, work through each break in the school break schedule and figure out what is the best arrangement for these times would be, given your and the other parent’s schedule.
It is important to take the time to account for these breaks in order to maximize the quality of the time your child spends with each of their parents.
If you or your spouse cannot be flexible with your work schedule, your child may have to be in childcare while you are at work. Each parent has what is called the right of first refusal. This means that if you are unable to exercise your residential time, the other parent has the first opportunity to take your child, before you can seek other sources of childcare.
Accounting for times when you know you will need child care can ensure the other parent has every chance they can get to spend extra time with their child. If your child will be in childcare, note that in the timesharing schedule and also note the days/times when you or the other parent will be transporting your child to the childcare.
You can also alternate the breaks your child spends with you and the other parent. For example, you can take your child on vacation on spring break in even years and they will be with their other parent during odd years. For longer breaks, like summer vacation, you may choose to keep the schedule similar to the school year schedule or you can break up the vacation between you and the other parent, in whatever arrangement works best for your family and best accommodates your child’s interests.
Are you in the Los Angeles area and have questions about how to craft a timesharing schedule that anticipates school breaks? Certified Family Law Specialist Mark H. Karney has extensive experience representing families in Los Angeles County divorces.
Serving Los Angeles and surrounding areas, California family law attorney Mark H. Karney can help ensure your parenting plan and timesharing schedule is feasible and looks out for your child’s best interest. Call our office at 310-622-9434; email us at intake@cfli.com or contact us through our online form today to schedule a free consultation.