Family Matters

Child Custody and Vacation Planning: What Parents Need to Know

Spring Break is right around the corner and we’re finally starting to experience some spring weather! For Pennsylvania parents who share custody of their children or for parents who are about to start a child custody schedule for the first time, the upcoming school break and better weather may have them thinking about potential vacations. What types of vacation time can be incorporated into a child custody agreement or Order? How are vacations scheduled? What information needs to be disclosed to a co-parents? Are vacation expenses divided between co-parents?

What type of vacation time can be incorporated into a Child Custody Agreement or Order?

In most standard child custody agreements and Orders, each party is given the option to exercise two, non-consecutive weeks of vacation per year. Each week is often defined as seven consecutive days. This provision allows each party to have sufficient uninterrupted custodial time to travel with the children. Parties can agree to any form of vacation time that best suits their needs. For example, if one parent’s family lives internationally, the parties might agree (or the parent might request) that they be permitted two or three weeks of consecutive vacation time. Orders and agreements can also include language that limits parents to taking their weeks of vacation during school breaks and school holidays, which ensures that children don’t miss any instructional time during the school year. Orders and agreements additionally frequently include language that makes it clear that vacation time does not supersede holiday time granted by an agreement or Order.

How are vacations scheduled?

In order to avoid vacation conflicts between parents, orders, and agreements can include language to ensure that parents don’t book vacations during the same weeks. For example, there can be a provision that in even-numbered years, Parent A gets the first choice of vacation weeks in the event there is a conflict and that Parent B has the right in odd-numbered years. Another way to address the issue is to mandate that the first parent to provide notification of their intended week(s) of vacation in a calendar year to secure those dates and to ensure that their co-parent cannot take a week of vacation during those dates. Regardless of the exact methodology included in an agreement or Order, these types of provisions are essential to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

What information needs to be disclosed?

The vacationing parent should provide their co-parent with the essential details regarding their travel with the children. Agreements and Orders can define “essential details” to include the exact dates of the travel, travel itineraries (i.e. plane schedules/train schedules/bus schedules), the planned mode of transport, the address of where the children will stay on the vacation, who else will be traveling with the children, and a good phone number for the non-vacationing parent to use to connect with the children. Many agreements and Orders additionally state that this information should be disclosed thirty days prior to the start of the trip or, if thirty days’ notice is not practical, as soon as the information is available.

How are vacation expenses paid?

Unless otherwise agreed upon between parents, each parent is responsible for their own vacation expenses.

If you are involved in a custody action and have questions about child custody agreements and vacation provisions, a conversation with an attorney can be helpful in navigating the process.

The information contained in this publication should not be construed as legal advice, is not a substitute for legal counsel, and should not be relied on as such. For legal advice or answers to specific questions, please contact one of our attorneys.