When going through the divorce process, one of the steps to be taken when there are children, is drafting a holiday schedule. When children are young, it’s easy for parents to think about how they will celebrate the immediate holidays, but as divorce attorneys, part of our job is to help you look into the future, to determine what might fit your family best.
Halloween is a holiday where young children (and their parents) delight in getting dressed up and going trick-or-treating. Taking pictures of kids in costumes, walking nearby as they run up to get their candy, is a delight as a parent; and thinking about missing out on that can lead some parents to want to celebrate Halloween together. For some families, that works out well: parents get along and there is no tension for the children to experience their parents being together. But for parents who don’t get along, where there is anger or resentment between them, being together for Halloween can take some of the joy out of the holiday for children.
Thinking into the future as well, while it may be fine now to walk together with the children, what happens when there are others involved? Will you feel the same with your ex’s new partner accompanying them? Will you have to discuss whether that person should attend? Those questions, and thoughtful answers, about what may occur down the road, should be discussed and addressed with your attorney.
You may make new memories of taking pictures together and then having the children go with one parent to trick-or-treat, you may decide that you will go trick or treating together until the children reach a certain age, you may decide to totally alternate the holidays. There is no wrong or right answer, just issues to discuss and think about.
For these or other family law issues, please contact one of the family law attorneys at Sandberg Phoenix.
