Trick or treat. That’s right, it’s Halloween again. The fun time when children dress up in their spookiest costumes to get as much candy as they possibly can. This should be a fun time for children, but as a family law attorney in San Diego, I have found children of divorce sometimes find this day to be more difficult than fun. This is because parenting plans generally include Halloween as a holiday, which can make the day more stressful than necessary. Thus brings us the topic of Halloween and co-parenting.
As a child custody lawyer in San Diego, I have seen parenting plans either provide for a child to be with one of their parents for the day or they break Halloween into two parts of a day. More on this split in a moment. First, I will discuss issues that can occur when Halloween is alternated between parents in odd and even years.
One big problem that can occur with alternate year plans is that a child will want to trick or treat with his or her friends who reside near their other parent. This can be difficult when a child does not have other children to trick or treat with. Another issue that arises is that a parent makes plans for the child without consulting the child.
Split holidays present another problem for the child at Halloween. Under this type of plan, the child is supposed to be with one parent for a certain part of the day and with the other parent another part of the day. This requires to child to split their trick or treating between two households, which may result in more candy, but could also present a problem making plans between parents with Halloween and co-parenting for parents who may not co-parent with each other. Also, this plan is even more difficult when the child has been at school all day and then their night has to be broken in half with driving to another house and or area of town.
These problems with Halloween and co-parenting could be eliminated if the parents were able to communicate or co-parent with each other. They could talk about their plans in advance and allow the child to trick or treat with their friends with both parents or even with just one parent.
When Halloween and co-parenting becomes a problem that negatively affects their child, the parents should explore co-parenting classes.
To inquire further about child custody and parenting plans look for a local family law attorney who can discuss this process as it relates to your specific situation. In San Diego, contact the Law Offices of Brian A. Victor for more information on child custody and parenting plans. www.brianvictorlaw.com
