Scroggins Law Group on Holiday Visitation Problems and Solutions
The holidays are always special for people who may be divorced and live with blended families. For most people who worked diligently on creating a workable parenting plan are pleased with their results. A good co-parenting agreement prepared by child custody lawyers in Plano, TX with a focus on holiday visitation can prevent conflict by creating structure and procedures to better communicate with former spouses.
All good planning aside, problems can occur. Mark L. Scroggins has can attest that as Plano, TX child custody lawyers, he and his colleagues could write books about all the holiday visitation problems and solutions they have observed in their careers. All it takes is a relative buying a plane ticket to see their grandchild outside of the scheduled time of that parent during the holidays.
Standard Possession Order
Child custody lawyers often use the Standard Possession Order as provided by the Texas Family Code. For most people the standard orders can be applied to the schedules of co-parents and the parties have success sharing custody and visitation time. For others with more challenging work schedules and life situations, a custom parenting agreement can be crafted to provide relief for what would be a conflict using the standard order.
Judges and child custody lawyers in Plano, TX remind parents that their final order or judgment likely contains language stating that parents may make their own agreements about periods of custody and visitation, legally called conservatorship and possession and access in Texas. When parents do not agree and there could be conflict, then they should refer to their Standard Possession Order or similar agreement.
Common Holiday Visitation Problems
When child custody lawyers end up in court over the holidays it is because their client or his or her other parent have failed to prepare for holiday visitation. If people can be flexible with their schedules and holiday observations, then most scheduling conflicts that arise out of lack of planning can be solved. It is when outside factors beyond control become problems. These third-party events are not always in our control.
The case of the innocent grandparent involves a very excited grandmother or grandfather finding a deal on airfare to fly in and spend time with their favorite grandchildren. Unfortunately, when booking the trip grandparent may not realize that plans have already been made and the children were booking simultaneous flights to a holiday vacation destination. Plano child custody lawyers addressing a holiday visitation problem like are often asked to be magicians in solving complex schedule conflicts.
Creative Holiday Visitation Solutions
In above example of booking flights on conflicting schedules, the first thought coming to the mind of many child custody lawyers in Plano, TX may be which party will likely be more inconvenienced by changing their plans and in this case their flights. If the grandparents are upset, is it worth it for the other party to offer to recompense the grandparents for the airfare?
Another solution to this conflict might be offering the aggravated party an alternative weekend or time they would really appreciate. Especially as children are growing and parents know that time is valuable, that time can used to repair conflicted scheduling problems.
Court Intervention and Enforcement
In another situation, consider that the grandparents who already bought their tickets were scheduled to arrive on the weekend their son or daughter was scheduled to have possession of the children, according to their Standard Possession Order.
Depending on the situation, the Standard Possession Order may never have been used by the parents who generally followed its guidelines but not specifically referred to it when communicating about parenting time. The parent whose own parents bought tickets for their weekend may have the right to rely on the standard order, even over the objection of the other parent who paid for a big vacation.
Resolving this type of conflict can require child custody lawyers to file pleadings to request the court intervene and enter an order granting relief to the party seeking to enforce their right to possession of the child.
Schedule a Consultation Meeting with Scroggins Law Group
While some parents continue to use their original child custody lawyers for custody and visitation issues that arise later in time, others hire new legal counsel, especially if they were divorced in a different state or there is some other logical reason to hire a new lawyer.
When scheduling a consultation to meet with Mark L. Scroggins, you can prepare by obtaining a copy of your current court order which includes information about managing conservatorship, possession and access to the child and any relating obligations.
When the child custody lawyers Plano, TX trusts from Scroggins Law Group represents you as your child custody conflict, you will learn what options are available to resolve conflict in the most efficient and effective way. If the problem can be solved with a few phone calls, communications and a meeting, then everyone can move forward. In other circumstances it may be time to prepare for court.
