School is almost done for the year, much to most children’s delight. If your children are still minors, and this will be your first summer after your divorce, it’s important to understand and prepare for the unique challenges that lie ahead.
Here are three things to consider.
1. You may need written permission to travel
Traveling overseas with your children will require signed permission from their other parent. If you travel to another state, you could potentially also face questions from police officers wanting to be sure the other parent has consented. It’s important to get permission in advance to avoid putting the whole trip in jeopardy.
2. You’ll need to consider the custody and parenting schedule
You might both be especially anxious about getting your fair amount of time with the kids when your divorce is recent. The schedule you had in mind, where you switch time with the children weekly or every certain number of days, may be fine for the bulk of the year, but things like going away on vacation may not fit neatly into this schedule. Summer clubs for the children can also complicate things, especially if one of you moves a little further away and is unable to drop and collect them off each day.
3. Coordinating time off work may be harder
You likely always had to do some coordinating with each other over summer childcare when you were spouses. Yet, often one spouse either does not work, or can take time off more easily in summer to do the bulk of the childcare when the children are off school. Divorcing may well put extra financial pressure on you both to work, making taking time off more difficult.
The ideal time to think about these things is when you are making your custody and parenting schedules. That way, you can build appropriate measures into the plans to cope with the differences each summer will bring.
