Co-Parenting Arrangements Over the Christmas Holidays – Plan Ahead Now!
The Christmas period can be a stressful time for most families, and it is certainly not made any easier if you are navigating co-parenting with your former partner or spouse during the festive season.
While a lot of separated parents can be amicable and adhere to an informal agreement in relation to their co-parenting, we recommend that any agreement reached in relation to co-parenting over the Christmas period (or any other time, for that matter) be made legally binding by way of Consent Orders, to ensure you are covered if your former partner or spouse wants to change things at the last minute.
If Consent Orders are not able to be obtained prior to the upcoming Christmas period, we recommend that at the minimum a Parenting Plan, while not legally binding, be obtained to assist in guiding the parents about the care arrangements of the children for the Christmas period.
You can obtain a Parenting Plan by either asking your lawyers to prepare one for you, or through community-based mediation services such as Relationships Australia or Centacare.
The importance of communication
We often tell our clients that communication is key, and it is especially important when attempting to co-parent over the Christmas period.
Obviously, children cannot be in two places at once and both parents should communicate with each other to ensure that the care arrangements for the children is organised well in advance of the Christmas period.
Festive season co-parenting – factors to consider
To avoid any conflict, it is important that both parents are willing to compromise and negotiate with each other, with the paramount consideration being what is in the best interests of the children.
Factors that may be considered when compromising and negotiating an agreement (depending on the circumstances of the children and the parents) include the location of the parents, family traditions, cultural expectations, whether interstate travel is required and whether protective measures (such as supervision) are required.
While there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to co-parenting over the Christmas period, each parent must consider the most practical solution for both parents to ensure that there is a smooth transition between households.
A common parenting arrangement over the Christmas period is for Parent 1 to have the children in their care from Christmas Eve to just prior to Christmas Day lunch and for Parent 2 to have the children in their care from Christmas Day lunch to the end of Boxing Day. This allows Parent 1 to spend time with the children and open presents on Christmas Day morning and for Parent 2 to spend time and open presents with the children for the rest of Christmas Day.
It is common for the above arrangements to alternate each year so that the parents can take in turns which of the days they spend with the children.
If the parents do not live in close proximity to each other (including if one parent lives interstate), the parenting arrangement must adapt to those circumstances and could include an arrangement where the children spend the first half of the Christmas holidays with Parent 1 and the remainder of the Christmas holidays with Parent 2 (with such arrangement to alternate each year).
Of course, we recommend that any travel of the children interstate be consented to by both parents and be planned with plenty of notice to avoid any potential conflict and stress on the children and/or the parents.
Get in touch
If you are concerned about the upcoming Christmas period and/or simply wish to put legally binding Consent Orders in place about your co-parenting arrangements, please get in contact with one of our specialist family lawyers via our family law web page or on 1800 730 842.
To allow sufficient time for Consent Orders to be agreed upon and sealed by the Court prior to the Christmas period, we recommend that you get in touch with one of our family lawyers prior to October because the Court has limited capacity at the end of the year.