Vacation Schedules in Custody
Vacations are a staple of the summer season and you want to make sure your children are able to enjoy vacation with you. A vacation schedule can be included as part of a custody order to alleviate any confusion or disagreement. Standard provisions specify how many weeks of vacation each party is entitled to per year, how the weeks may be exercised, what type of notice should be given, and what additional information should be provided. A sample vacation schedule paragraph is below:
Each party shall have two non-consecutive weeks of vacation each year with thirty days advance written notice to the other parent. If there is a conflict on vacation where both parties plan the same week, the party who gives written notice first shall be entitled to the week. Written notice may be via email or text message. The parties agree that they will each exercise their vacation week to include their regular scheduled time so as not to unnecessarily disrupt the regular custody schedule.
The parties agree will provide the other parent with a travel itinerary, and names of anyone traveling with the children and provide contact information for how to reach the children while on vacation. The parties agree that if either parent intends to remove the children from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for any purpose for any length of time over two days, that he or she will provide one (1) week notice to the other and indicate the destination where he or she intends to take the children, names of anyone traveling with the children, the length of the trip and a phone number and address where the children can be reached. Neither party will be allowed to travel out of the country with the children unless both parties agree in writing or a Court Order is obtained. The parties acknowledge that the vacation schedule takes precedence over the regular schedule and the holiday schedule takes precedence over the vacation and regular schedules so that neither party may take vacation during the other party’s holiday time.
