3 Questions to Consider When Planning Summer Vacation with a Custody Order

By Elizabeth Billies

If June 21st is the official start of summer, then the last day of school is undoubtedly the unofficial start. As your kids turn their attention away from books and teachers’ dirty (more likely weary) looks, you (and they) may ask, what will we do this summer? Many families use the summer months to take long overdue vacations to the beach, the mountains and even abroad. All vacations require some planning. But if you are a family with a custody order, you must also consider the following three questions before booking that vacay. 

What does my custody order say? 

Almost all custody orders will have a specific provision devoted to vacation custody time. Does yours? Do you know what it says? You may think you do, but I highly recommend you get out the order and reread the provision before making any reservations, particularly non-refundable ones. Here are some things that your vacation provisions may address: 

Length of the vacation: Usually, both parents are afforded two weeks of vacation each summer to be taken in one-week blocks. Some orders will allow those blocks to be taken consecutively, and some will not. Be sure to know what your order says before booking your trip, particularly if you are looking to plan an extended vacation such as a timed tour, cruise or international travel. 

Start time of vacation: Again, your order may include a provision that your vacation must start on your regularly scheduled custody weekend. If it does, make sure that you plan accordingly. If that will be an issue, speak to your co-parent about switching weekends before making any reservations and get their agreement in writing. 

Location of the vacation: Does your vacation provision preclude international travel? Some parties will limit vacations to domestic travel only for certain reasons. If that is the case, again, you must plan accordingly or get agreement from your co-parent to travel outside the United States. 

While you and your co-parent are always free to modify any of the above conditions, it is always possible that they won’t agree for good (or not-so-good) reasons. If you and your co-parent want to agree to something other than what your order provides, please remember to get that agreement in writing to avoid issues as your trip gets closer. 

What do I have to tell my co-parent about my summer vacation? 

Almost all vacation provisions will have a notice requirement for when you need to tell your co-parent about your planned vacation with the child. Most agreements will require at least 30 days’ notice, though some are longer for certain types of travel. Make sure that you adhere to that notice requirement to avoid the other parent objecting to your planned vacation because your notice was late. 

In addition to informing your co-parent about your intention to take a vacation, you likely will need to provide them with certain information about your plans. Again, your custody order should list that information and specify when to provide it. Usually, the vacationing parent needs to let the other parent know the following: the dates of the vacation, where they are going, the flight number (if applicable), and where the children are staying. Some orders also require that the traveling parent provide a copy of the plane ticket, cruise booking or tour information. If your order doesn’t specifically indicate what to provide your co-parent, then I suggest that you at least share the specific dates, location of the vacation, and flight number to avoid issues. Also, please remember to provide this notice in writing and save that communication. 

What should I do if my co-parent and I can’t agree on my summer vacation plans? 

While the goal of any custody order is to provide a roadmap for each party’s custodial time, that doesn’t mean that disputes regarding interpretation of that roadmap won’t occur. The best way to avoid these issues is to read your order and comply with the provisions. Even if your co-parent objects to your vacation, you stand a better chance of being able to go on the vacation as planned if you have adhered to all the vacation provision’s terms. 

However, disputes regarding summer vacation may still occur.  For example, what if you and your co-parent disagree about the vacation location because your order is silent about international travel? What if your co-parent disputes your compliance with the notice provision? What if the vacation dates had to change at the last minute, and now, they won’t agree? These fights happen regularly. If this happens to you, I recommend contacting your attorney as soon as possible. They can either file an appropriate petition with the court or help you solve this dispute with your co-parent or their counsel. The court system will unlikely see this issue as an emergency. As such, if you wait too long to get your attorney involved, it may simply be too late for them to have this issue heard by your judge, ruining the vacation and costing you money. If you are short on time, you may want to consider mediating this issue or having it addressed at binding arbitration. Mediators and arbitrators generally have more flexibility when it comes to scheduling and can likely help you resolve this issue well before your vacation dates. 

Conclusion

Summer vacations are a great time to make memories with your kids. You can do your best to ensure custody disputes don’t mar those memories if you ask yourself these three questions when planning your summer vacation: (1) What does my custody order say? (2) What do I have to tell my co-parent about my summer vacation? and (3) What should I do if my co-parent and I can’t agree on my summer vacation plans? 

Have a summer vacation or other custody dispute with your co-parent and need representation or a mediator to help you resolve your matter?  Don’t hesitate to contact a member of our family law team or call the office directly at 215.362.2474.