With the summer holidays quickly approaching, navigating who has what time with the children and how the cost of this is to be met can be a challenging exercise.
While term-time arrangements might be working smoothly, the long summer holidays may prompt a fresh look at schedules to take into account planned holidays, work commitments, and the availability of childcare.
Communication
Ultimately, as parents, you know your children best, and the starting point should be to sit down and try to reach an agreement between yourselves. Open and early communication is key to agreeing summer holiday arrangements that work for both parents and children.
If you have planned a holiday, it is important to inform the other parent as soon as possible, providing them with all the relevant details. Beyond this, it is important to keep the other parent informed about your plans while the children are in your care – for example, if they will be at a holiday club or with family for part of this time. By communicating with the other parent and setting out fixed plans covering longer periods during the holiday, it will be easier to coordinate the remaining time your children spend with each parent.
Plans
Early planning will help to coordinate each parent’s time with the children and ensure childcare is covered while the parents are at work.
If you are able to reach an agreement, you should write this down. This could be as simple as creating a shared calendar or more formal, by setting this out in a Parenting Plan.
It is important that an agreement is reached regarding the arrangements for the summer holidays, as this can often act as a benchmark for outlining what time the children spend with each parent during future school holidays.
Parents must remember to obtain the consent of the other before taking their children out of the jurisdiction, and ensure they have the appropriate consent required by the country they are travelling to before they leave, to avoid any issues at the airport.
Costs
The cost of childcare over the holidays can be a difficult discussion. As a general rule, each parent is responsible for covering the cost of childcare or holiday clubs while the child is in their care. However, this may not be appropriate in all circumstances – for example, where time is split unevenly or where both parents agree to the children attending a costly activity or holiday club during time with one parent. It is sensible to agree how costs will be shared before making any bookings.
How we can help you?
If you are finding it difficult to reach an agreement, there are different levels of support we can offer. You may need assistance with the overall agreement, or with specific issues such as how costs are shared.
We can provide you with advice in the background to help you approach these conversations with the other parent.
If you feel your situation may benefit from a neutral party relaying your position, we can facilitate communication through solicitor correspondence between us and the other parent or their solicitor.
On the other hand, if you would prefer a more structured environment to help reach an agreement, we can assist with mediation. We can act as an independent third party to facilitate the conversation between you and the other parent and help keep discussions focused. Several solicitors in our team are qualified mediators with extensive experience in this particular field. Alternatively, we can advise you in the background if you are involved in mediation with a separate mediator. If an agreement is reached at mediation, we can formalise this by drafting a Parenting Plan setting out who the children spend time with and how costs will be apportioned.
The court is also available as a last resort if an agreement cannot be reached, and we can help support you through this process.
If you have any questions regarding child arrangements and the upcoming summer holidays, please do not hesitate to contact the team. One of our experienced solicitors would be happy to assist.
Rachel Donald is a partner in our family and children team, advising national and international clients on all aspects of family law including divorce and separation, resolving arrangements for children as well as disputes concerning child maintenance. Esther Roberts and Imogen Carr are currently trainees in family and children team.
Get in touch
If you would like to speak with a member of the team you can contact our family and children solicitors by telephone on +44 (0)20 3826 7520 or complete our enquiry form.
