Co-Parenting and School Vacations

On behalf of The Law Office of Wickersham and Bowers posted in Family Law on Monday January 10th, 2022.

It pays to prepare ahead, whether you’re thinking about the impending holidays or want to make co-parenting with your ex go more smoothly next summer. If the two of you work together to come up with a co-parenting plan that works for everyone, you’ll have a higher chance of co-parenting peacefully.

Co-parents should consider various aspects of arranging time and collaborating over the holidays, including the children’s ages, family customs, and religious views. Additional considerations include how well the parents get along and the kind of relationships the parents have with each of the children. It’s critical to honor the traditions that are significant to each of them.

It would help if you also considered what happens during other school breaks throughout the year. For example, if one parent takes the kids on vacation during spring break, the other parent might receive the bulk of winter break.

Make it Official

Your holiday plans should be outlined in the custody agreement you reached during your divorce. The agreement should spell out how school breaks—winter, spring, and long weekends like Memorial Day, Labor Day, and others—will be spent and allocated from year to year. 

You might also want to discuss what will happen on religious holidays that your family observes that aren’t on the school calendar. If you’re going to keep your usual parenting routine over the school break, you should specify that in your contract. If you don’t, the other parent can subsequently ask a court to decide whether the child should be split or alternated.

Attorneys can help to avoid conflicts by establishing explicit guidelines in the parenting plan or custody agreement.

Every family is unique, and every divorce falls somewhere along the amicable-to-acrimonious spectrum. To eliminate any potential confusion down the road, your plan should be clearly spelled out. Some plans are highly explicit and include set dates, such as Mom getting the third week of June and Dad getting the third week of July. Others may simply specify that each parent will have one week and that all dates must be finalized and communicated by a specific date.

Parents should make every effort to adhere to the schedule.

Who Will Take Care of My Children and Their Inheritance if the Worst Happens?

On behalf of The Law Office of Wickersham and Bowers posted in Estate Planning on Monday January 10th, 2022.

When you’re young, healthy, and beginning a family, you may not think about estate planning, but your child needs you to make decisions now that will ensure a secure future for him or her, even if the worst happens.

There are a few critical estate planning actions that every parent should take to ensure that their child is secure, no matter what the future holds.

Make a Will

Making a will is crucial for parents, but did you know that each parent should have their own legal will? Even if generating only one document may be more efficient, a joint will doesn’t make much sense.

A shared will ties the survivor to the original terms, leaving little room for the surviving parent to make revisions if circumstances drastically altered.

Name a Guardian

Your will should name your spouse or partner as the guardian of your children, and their will should name you. Having it written down prevents someone from stepping forward and challenging your children’s custody.

If both of you die or the surviving partner is unable to care for the children, you will need to have an alternate guardian. The most difficult task for parents is deciding on a guardian. It’s difficult to envision anybody else raising your children, yet it’s one of the most crucial things you can do to assure their future happiness.

Set Up a Trust

A child trust fund allows you to decide what your children will receive and when they will receive it. A trust fund is a place where you can keep the assets you want for the beneficiaries you pick.

The trustee is legally accountable for the child trust fund’s management and must fulfill your desires precisely as stated in your will.

For example, you might wish to give your child a lump sum of money on their 18th birthday or want them to inherit one of your most valuable things after you die.