Child Contact Arrangements: The Night(mare) before Christmas

Christmas – the season of family festivities and goodwill to all.  When most people talk about the ‘Christmas rush’ they mean last minute present shopping, for us family lawyers though its all about holiday child contact arrangements.

Christmas is often a highly emotional time for separated parents.  The thought of not spending Christmas with their children is understandably upsetting.  Most parents we meet are able to work through this and reach a reasonable agreement which means that their children benefit from spending time with each parent and their wider family.  One common approach is for children to spend Christmas Day with one parent and Boxing Day with the other on alternate years.

For some however, it is not possible to reach any agreement at all.  If you find yourself in this situation then these are the options you need to consider: –

1. Write a letter to your former partner as soon as possible setting out your proposals for holiday contact.  Be as specific as you can be and give a deadline for them to respond that is reasonable, eg. 14 days.  It is advisable to do this sooner rather than later to find out where you stand.  If you leave it too late then the other options which are available to you now might not be, the closer you get to Christmas.

2. Family mediation is often a useful way to establish a positive line of communication with your former partner.  This involves you both meeting with a neutral third party mediator who can help guide you to making arrangements which are best for you and your family.

3. If all else fails, then issuing an application at Court is your final option.  You need to bear in mind that you will need to get your application into court sooner rather than later to ensure that the court has time to deal with it before Christmas.  This is definitely the most costly of the options and going to court does not mean that you will automatically get what you want from the arrangements.

If your contact arrangements over Christmas are in doubt then don’t leave it too late to take advice!

Our experienced team of family law experts and divorce lawyers are here to assist should you need advice on any family law or divorce matter. Contact our local family law experts on 0800 015 0340 to arrange an initial free half hour appointment at any of our offices in Huddersfield, Halifax, Wakefield, Horbury, Leeds, Pudsey or Morley.