Holiday Custody Schedules in New Jersey

The holiday season is a time to celebrate with family. However, when your children are spending their holiday with your ex-spouse, you probably aren’t in the mood for much celebrating. At the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone, we have found that even the most amicable of divorces can turn hostile, especially when it involves your children sharing holiday time.

To keep things from becoming hostile between you and your spouse, you both should consider creating a holiday custody schedule to prevent things from becoming ugly and make it easy for all parties involved. The first thing the list should entail is which holidays your family celebrates. Your list should include each holiday and the days your children have off from school. The agreement should be fair to both parents.

If parents cannot agree on a holiday custody schedule for their children, the courts will. Rule 5:8-5 says in the event that the parents cannot come to an agreement on any type of visitation arrangement, each parent has to individually file a Custody and Parenting Time/Visitation Plan. The court considers each parent’s plan when ruling on child custody matters.

As with creating your own holiday custody schedule, a Custody and Parenting Time/Visitation Plan should also entail which holidays you celebrate and your children’s time off from school. In addition, it needs to include birthdays, family outings, and any extracurricular activities. Failing to provide this information can result in the dismissal of the non-complying parent’s pleadings. Having an experienced family law attorney on your side, like Anthony Carbone, is the best way to navigate this process.

New Jersey courts typically distribute the same schedule to most parents facing these kinds of issues when holidays arise. Odd-numbered years could be associated with one parent for certain holidays with even years going to the other parent for different holidays. So, each year the holiday alternates from one parent to the next. For example, you may spend Christmas with your children during odd-numbered years, while your ex-spouse spends Christmas with them on even-numbered years. The schedule in which the court determines who spends time with who may look something like this:

* Unless otherwise indicated, those holidays shall run from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

• Christmas Eve, December 24th, 6 PM to Christmas Day, December 25th at 12 PM.
• Christmas Day, December 25th, 12 PM to December 26th at 6 PM.
• New Year’s Eve Day, December 31st at 6 PM to New Year’s Day, January 1st at 12 PM.
• New Year’s Day, January 1st at 12 PM to 6 PM.
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day*.
• President’s Day*.
• Easter Saturday, 6 PM through Easter Sunday, 6 PM.
• Memorial Day*.
• Fourth of July/Independence Day*.
• Labor Day*.
• Thanksgiving Day*.

Special Days:

• Father’s birthday to Father.
• Mother’s birthday to Mother.
• Father’s Day to Father.
• Mother’s Day to Mother.

Holiday custody schedules and visitations plans are not the same as a residential schedule, which determines where your children may live on any given day of the year. These schedules are only for the holidays, and they take priority over residential schedules for that time period only.

We Can Help You Determine Your Schedule

For issues in determining which parent sees their children on which holidays, you are going to need a child custody lawyer on your side you can trust. At the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone, we’ve been helping parents with custody issues for thirty years. Contact our offices today to schedule your free consultation.

CALL NOW:(201) 829-3829