Summer vacation is a difficult time for many working parents. It is stressful to consider what your children will be doing day in and day out throughout the summer while you are working. Will they be at summer camp? How will you afford that extra expense or that of child care? The challenges faced double when it comes to couples that are divorced and sharing time and expenses. Below are some of the most common mistakes when it comes to summertime with divorced parents.
Summertime is not the time to have a vague parenting plan or a non-existing one. A detailed parenting plan is necessary in the summer to make for hassle free planning. It can also help to avoid the monetary issues related summer plans and your children. Before summer begins have a detailed written plan that states exactly what weeks the children will be with each parent as well as who is to pay for camps, childcare and other extra activities that come about during the summer. This will help circumvent issues before they arise.
As a result of the divorce there are fewer finances available for summertime fun. With this in mind it is important to remember that not everything your children did during the summer prior to the divorce is going to be financially able to be done now. Money is divided differently and therefore activities that are done are different as well. This is also the case if one parent stayed home with the children during the summer before you were divorced. This luxury is most likely not available to parents that are newly divorced and childcare will need to be planned and budgeted for. It is important to remember that fun times and memories of childhood summers don’t come from money spent rather time spent.
With divorce comes conflict between parents and differences of opinions. This happens a lot with divorce, parental styles tend to change and summer time makes this more evident than ever before. When parents are not on the same wave length when it comes to parenting the children can often feel the stress. Don’t allow yourself to be succumbed to arguing over each and every detail that summer brings.
To avoid chaos over summer vacation it is important that you meet with your divorce attorney to ensure that your parenting plan is detailed and realistic. If nothing is in place addressing summer directly it is important to have a meeting of the minds. If there are drastic differences you may want to meet with your divorce attorneys and a mediator to establish a plan, a routine and a financial order to cover the bases of summer.
Longton DM, a subsidiary of Longton Law Offices is a divorce attorney specializing in Women/Mom’s in divorce throughout Trenton and the surrounding Michigan areas. Find us at http://www.michigandivorcelawyerforwomen.com.