As Halloween and Remembrance Day are now behind us, many people will turn their minds to setting up the Christmas tree and looking at Santa’s Wish List from the little ones. Some parents also may be looking at the snow outside and contemplating a Christmas in flip flops at a Mexican or Hawaiian resort.
Keeping this in mind, it is right now the right time for separated and blended families to discuss and confirm with each other what will occur with parenting time during the Children’s Christmas school and holiday break.
While many parents do have a set holiday schedule for Christmas, Hannukah or New Year’s through a Separation Agreement, Court order or Divorce Judgment and Corollary Relief Order, those who do not may face losing out on celebrating the holidays with their Children without clarity of a clear family legal plan.
How can parents ensure that they will have parenting time this holiday break? At Family Central Law Office, we recommend the following:
1. Try and have a discussion with the other parent about his or her plans. Many times, a frank discussion about each party’s priorities for the holidays can prevent costly court applications;
2. Being that there is still a month until the holiday, one or two sessions of Mediation with or without counsel can still be booked (including at Family Central Law Office) and this will assist separated parties who need a pragmatic and solution focused professional who nail down a holiday schedule; and
3. If mediation or negotiation is not successful, then there is still time for counsel to file a court application to confirm parenting time during this upcoming Christmas / holiday break. Please be aware that court in Calgary where we can still obtain a chambers appearance before a Justice is booking two weeks out from any given day. Therefore, waiting longer to start the process will result in the delay of getting completed the drafting and filing of an Application.
Of course, the best option is to meet with counsel or your mediator in advance of all Christmas / holiday break and plan forward so that you do not need a last-minute solution that will be far more costly. At Family Central Law Office, we would be happy to discuss the future of your children’s holiday schedules with you at any time, kindly contact us today for your free 20-30 minute consultation on your matter by calling our office at: 587-392-7970 or emailing info@familycentrallaw.com, or our consultation page directly on our website so we can get back to you within 24 hours of contacting us.
