For those considering getting a divorce here in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, one of the more worrisome problems is how to handle the holidays and birthday celebrations when children and child custody are issues. If one parent is getting primary custody of the children, there is a danger that the other parent ends up being excluded from holidays and other celebrations like birthdays, graduations, and more.

However, in truth, handling holidays and other celebrations is not something to worry about. In practice, all of these “special days” are shared and are, typically, alternated between the parents one year after the next. Sharing and alternating in this manner can be agreed to by the parents, or it will be imposed by the Maryland divorce court. You can probably imagine how many times parents have come to court to argue about where the kids will spend Thanksgiving. However, the courts do not have the time or resources to deal with a constant stream of arguing parents. The simple and time-tested solution is the one listed above: alternating years (or other intervals). If you have Maryland child custody legal questions, call for a consultation with the St. Mary’s County child custody attorneys at the Law Office of Robert Castro at (301) 870-1200. You can also contact us via our contact page. If you are searching for “top-rated Maryland divorce and family law attorneys,” contact us. We have offices in Waldorf, Maryland.

One of the issues that our attorneys can help with is coming up with an agreement between the parents with respect to holidays and other celebrations. Even though a shared-alternating arrangement is most common, that is not the only possibility. And, of course, the possible arrangements depend on how the child custody is shared. For example, if one parent has visitation rights that include a month of “overnight stays” in the summer, then any celebration days during that month would “go” to that parent (or, at least, that is what the parents could agree to).

As noted, the divorce courts generally will allow whatever arrangements the parents make with regard to holidays. Moreover, the courts require that the parents come to some sort of agreement about sharing the special days. As part of the divorce process, the Maryland courts ask the parents to complete an official form called a “Parenting Plan.” Among other things, these Parenting Plans have pages devoted to completing the parents’ agreement with respect to holidays, birthdays, and other celebrations. The courts will incorporate the parents’ agreement into the Final Order issued with respect to custody. Importantly, the courts will expect the parents to honor the agreement.

A shared-alternating arrangement is, of course, only appropriate where the Maryland divorce court has determined that both parents are fit parents and that the child (or children) would benefit from having both parents involved in their upbringing. If one parent is denied visitation or given only a limited type of visitation, then sharing and alternating holidays would not be appropriate.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland, Family Law and Child Custody Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Family Law lawyers. Our address is 11701 Central Avenue, Suite 200, Waldorf, MD 20601.