Holidays seem to be one of the worst times for parent-time
exchanges in the State of Utah. It does
not help that the Utah Code simply states that the Christmas break is divided in
half based on the number of days. With
the exchange taking place either at 1:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. depending on whether
the number of days for break are an even or odd number. Layers often have different interpretations
of when the break takes place. Is it the
Friday when school gets out or after the normal weekend for that parent? Same thing applies for determining when the
break ends. This can end to hours of frustration and unnecessary
expenses.
How do you avoid this problem? Put it directly in your Decree would be the
easy solution. It would be less
expensive and less frustrating to simply modify the Decree to state that the
Christmas break begins on a certain day and ends on a certain day. If not, you will continue to be frustrated
and continue to pay an attorney for the e-mails and the phone calls.
Another related issue is extended time during the
summer. Unlike the vagueness of Christmas
time, the code is clear that:
“ Both parents shall provide notification of
extended parent-time or vacation weeks with the child at least 30 days prior to the end of the child's school year
to the other parent and if notification
is not provided timely the complying parent may determine the schedule for extended parent-time for the
noncomplying parent.”
There is a penalty for non-compliance so make sure you get
that request in. Again, if this is a
constant battle, it may be better to amend your Decree to state that in odd
number years the custodial parent will have first dibs in even number years and
the non-custodial parent will have first dibs in odd number years or something similar.
The goal is to minimize disputes and spend less. Taking the time to modify now when things are
not heated up makes more sense than dealing with the frustration.
For more information contact Attorney Drew at
www.attorneydrew.com
