When Ohio parents who are seeking a divorce are trying to figure out their child custody and visitation arrangements, one important part of the discussions should be about how they will deal with holiday parenting time. Holidays can present a unique challenge because most parents will both want the child for the exact same days.
There are a couple of different ways parents can handle the holidays. In some cases, parents are given alternating years. In this scenario, the parents will switch off having the child from year to year. This is often the easiest type of holiday parenting time to arrange.
Parents who are able to get along better with each other may instead want to opt for split holiday time. In this arrangement, the parents each spend time with their child for part of each holiday, switching according to their chosen schedule. If people have a goal of being able to work out their own child custody and visitation schedule through negotiating with each other, they need to understand that both will need to approach the discussion reasonably, and both need to be prepared to make concessions.
When trying to work out a parenting time schedule, the most important thing is the best interests of the child. If parents can keep that in mind while they are trying to reach an agreement, they may ultimately be likelier to be successful. Some people may benefit by seeking help from a family law attorney in order to reach an agreement. An attorney may be better able to negotiate in order to come up with an agreement that is workable for both parents. If the situation is one in which an agreement is unlikely, an attorney may help the client gather any needed evidence should litigation be necessary.