Most Possession Schedules Permit (and Courts Encourage) Agreements to Modify the Holiday Visitation. While the specific language in your order controls, check out your order to see if this applies to your case.
1.Most possession schedules permit (and courts encourage) agreements to modify the holiday visitation
While the specific language in your order controls, check out your order to see if this applies to your case. Most possession schedules permit you to exercise ANY periods of possession by mutual agreement.
Do you hate that one parent gets the entire Thanksgiving break? Try working with the other parent to divide up that week to establish Thanksgiving times for each parent that benefits the child most. Maybe switch days and offer some make up time.
With visitation, really anything goes as long as it is good for your family and agreed by the parents.With that being said, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS get those agreements that change your written possession schedule IN WRITING (text or email is fine).
Also understand that you are relying on the other person’s word to keep these agreements. If one parent decides to renege on the agreement at the last minute, you are unfortunately stuck with following the possession schedule in the child custody order, as the written court order is the order that is enforceable. Of course, if you have questions or need advice, contact your local family law attorney.
2.A typical holiday possession schedule alternates each major school break (regardless of virtual, face-to-face, or other schooling options)
Pursuant to the Standard Possession Order, the holiday possession schedule typically follows the below schedule
| Custodial Parent | Years | Non-Custodial Parent | Years |
| Spring Break | Odd | Spring Break | Even |
| Thanksgiving | Even | Thanksgiving | Odd |
| First Half of Christmas | Odd | First Half of Christmas | Even |
| Second Half of Christmas | Even | Second Half of Christmas | Odd |
Per the Standard Possession Order, the Christmas or winter holiday is broken down into the First Half of Christmas, which begins when the child is released from school for Christmas and ends at noon on December 28, and the Second Half of Christmas, which begins at noon on December 28 and ends on the Sunday prior to the child returning to school.
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are also included to give the respective parents time with the children on those days. Many orders also include terms for birthdays of the children.
The Standard Possession Order entitles the parent in possession for Spring Break and Thanksgiving possession as beginning the Friday beginning the break and ending the Sunday following the break, for almost 9 full days for each such holiday.
Any other Holidays that you want to include and delineate specific possession times have to be specifically requested before the Judge or agreed upon between the parties. If those holidays are not included in your order, you are able and encouraged to try to work between the parents to written agreements regarding those additional holidays.
3. If your holiday possession schedule is not working, you can file a modification
Do you think your current holiday possession schedule is not in the best interest of the child? Have the circumstances in your family or the other parent’s family materially and substantially changed since the prior order was entered, which you believe warrants a change in your possession schedule?
If you answered yes to both of these questions, you are entitled to file a Petition to Modify Parent-Child Relationship to address any issues that affect the children.
The best way to determine whether filing a Modification is your correct next step is to contact a family law attorney with experience in these matters. The family lawyers at Hanshaw Kennedy Hafen are working and ready to take your call.
4.If the other parent refuses to follow the holiday possession schedule, you can file an enforcement
Are you having difficulty getting the other parent to properly follow the possession schedule? Do they refuse to do what is required of them under your Child Custody Order?
If so, you are entitled to file a Motion for Enforcement, which asks the Court to order the other parent to follow the Custody Order and can include penalty for the parent refusing to follow the Order (this could be monetary fines, jail time, make up time, etc.).
The best way to determine whether filing an Enforcement is your correct next step is to contact a family law attorney with experience in these matters. The family lawyers at Hanshaw Kennedy Hafen are working and ready to take your call.
5. When to talk to a family law attorney about your holiday schedule
Two situations are worth a conversation with an attorney. The first is a holiday schedule that no longer fits your family, which is what a modification addresses. The second is a co-parent who is not following the order, which is what an enforcement addresses. A modification changes the order going forward. An enforcement asks the court to hold the other parent to the order that already exists.
Our attorneys handle custody, modification, and enforcement matters in Collin, Dallas, and Denton counties from our Frisco office. Call 469-598-1080 to schedule a consultation.