Custody, Who Gets the Kids for the Holidays?
In divorces and separations, there can be so much to be worked out. From your car to your housing, depending on the situation, nearly everything can come into a state of uncertainty at this point in your life. The worst of this is uncertainty and worry with regards to your children.
Figuring out matters of custody is one issue, but once you are past that, the next matter is visitation. Utah law has firm positions on visitation, or Parent Time as it’s now referred to. No matter the occasion, holiday or not, these are the laws of Utah.
Diplomacy First
First of all, we must start by emphasizing the state’s desire for amicable relations and agreements between the separating parties. The state also wants to administer whatever is the right solution for the family and the child especially. If both parties can come to an agreement when it comes to visitation, this is then the most desirable of outcomes in the court’s eyes.
This spirit of working together doesn’t always play out so well though unfortunately. When both parties cannot agree, the court initially will often ask the parties to give one more attempt at diplomacy and the creation of an agreement. After this however, if such an agreement is unreachable, the court does have a remedy.
Mandated Schedules
In most cases, you are strongly advised against taking this route. Your chances of negotiating some of your desires beforehand are gone once the court lays out its default blueprint for the matter. That blueprint is a standard schedule applied to two different kinds of children: those below five years of age and those at five years or above.
Each of these two schedules offers little leeway or flexibility to the parties. They are the court’s agreement and attempt at universal fairness, formed as a substitute for that of the two parties. As far as holidays, these days are divided up as the court sees even and fair, with each schedule being different in this respect. Regardless, neither party is typically very happy with these mandated orders in the end.
No one likes these types of situations, but it’s ultimately best to resolve them with diplomacy rather than by force of the court. Not only will you benefit in this way, but your children will as well. If you need more help on matters like these, don’t be afraid to reach out to your leading Provo Family Law Attorneys, Howard Lewis & Petersen.
