Parenting Plans During the Summer: Is Yours Ready?

For the average divorced or separated parent, complications adjusting to their new life start to settle once a parenting plan or child custody agreement is in place. All members of your family can begin to adjust to a new routine and discover what the new “normal” looks like — and then comes the summertime.

Each year, when summer rolls around, parenting plans can start to get holes in them. School schedules and locations naturally influence which child lives with what parent, when, and why. With school out of the picture for a few months, parenting time schedules and requirements can be much different than before.

In 2020, with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic causing nationwide lockdowns, the summertime is even more complex than ever before for some divorced or separated parents. What are you supposed to do to keep everything in order?

Returning to Work & Caring for Your Kids

More and more states are pushing to have businesses reopened like normal or something close to it by July. The goal is to get the economy moving forward again after lockdown halted cashflow and shuttered companies left and right. This initiative to find new ways to open businesses amid the pandemic could mean you will be back at work before you know it, so make sure your kids and parenting time are considered.

If your current parenting time schedule or child custody agreement will not work with you returning to work, then you need to speak to your ex-spouse about it, assuming it’s safe to communicate directly with them. Many states allow you to make unofficial adjustments to your parenting time schedules. Basically, if you, your ex-spouse, and your children are fine with the changes, then the court is likely to be fine with these changes too.

However, it is always advised that you make child custody modifications by working with a lawyer and submitting them to the court. You can draft a newly proposed parenting time schedule based on the availability changes that happen in the summer and submit the new plan to a judge for approval. The changes can be purely temporary, too, expiring once the summer ends and your children re-enroll in school.

Need help figuring out a new custody agreement, either for the summer or any other reason? If you live in Colorado, you should make Jorgensen, Brownell & Pepin, P.C. your first choice of legal counsel. Our team would be happy to guide you through the process, including representing you in any matters that go before the court. Call (720) 491-3117 to arrange a consultation with an award-winning law firm in your area.