Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas - Holiday Parenting Time Schedules
When the seasons of Goblins, Turkeys, and Reindeer arrive, most parents know that means parenting time schedules will shift and change too. Indiana' s Parenting Time Guidelines outlines how Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas/Winter Break should be divided between the parents each odd and even numbered years. However, sometimes you may have a Court Order which deviates from these schedules due to distance, agreement, or the Court's decision. S make sure you always follow what your Court Order says and remember holidays take precedence over normal scheduled parenting time.
In this post, we will breakdown what the current Indiana parenting time schedules are for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas and include some information to help you and your family enjoy the holidays.
Halloween
This is one of the shortest and quickest holidays for parenting time and depending what day of the week it falls on, can be a quick turnaround as well. We always stress to our clients to try and communicate with the other party to see if maybe an earlier pick up time could happen or possibly an overnight even. And to remember its a give and take as well.
Odd Numbered Years: the noncustodial parent (NCP) shall have parenting time on Halloween evening from 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. OR at such time as it coincides with the scheduled time for trick or treating in the community where the NCP lives (i.e. trick or treating in neighborhood is 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.).
Even Numbered Years: the custodial parent (CP) shall have parenting time on Halloween evening from 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. OR at such time as it coincides with the scheduled time for trick or treating in the community where the CP lives (i.e. trick or treating in neighborhood is 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.).
Thanksgiving
At times Thanksgiving break may intertwine with a Fall Break. If that is the case, please contact our office to discuss how the division of the Fall Break with Thanksgiving may work. The schedule below is just for Thanksgiving break for the days provided in the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines.
Odd Numbered Years: the custodial parent (CP) shall have parenting time beginning at 6:00 P.M. on Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving) until 6:00 P.M. on Sunday.
Even Numbered Years: the noncustodial parent (NCP) shall have parenting time beginning at 6:00 P.M. on Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving) until 6:00 P.M. on Sunday.
Christmas / Winter Break
Each school district has different dates as to when winter break begins and ends. You will need to know that schedule to implement the Christmas/Winter Break parenting time. The biggest thing we try to point out to our clients when it comes to this holiday schedule is Christmas Day parenting time. Christmas Day for the parent that does not have the child(ren) Christmas Morning begins at noon and ends at 9:00 P.M. on Christmas Day. Instead of making everyone go out on Christmas night to exchange the child(ren) we suggest the parties try to agree to exchange the child(ren) the following morning. No one wants to go out that late on Christmas Day.
Christmas / Winter vacation begins the last day of school and ends the day before they return to school. The holiday parenting time will start at 6:00 P.M. the last day of school for the first half and end at 6:00 P.M. the day before returning to school for the second half.
Odd Numbered Years: the noncustodial parent (NCP) shall have the first half of the winter break and the custodial parent (CP) shall have the second half of the winter break. There is no exchange time for the 2nd half to begin, but most parties start at 6:00 P.M.
Even Numbered Years: the custodial parent (CP) shall have the first half of the winter break and the noncustodial parent (NCP) shall have the second half of the winter break. There is no exchange time for the 2nd half to begin, but most parties start at 6:00 P.M.
Christmas Day: whatever parent does not have Christmas Eve Night/Christmas Morning shall have Christmas Day beginning at noon to 9:00 P.M.
No parenting time exchanges shall take place after 9:00 P.M. or before 8:00 A.M., absent agreement of the parents.
New Years Eve and Day are not divided holidays.
To determine the halves, count the number of overnights of the winter break and divide by 2. Sometimes a half may end on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so please communicate with the other party and see if you both can make arrangements for another agreement if a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day exchange does not work for one or the other. Most Courts and law offices are closed around this time of the month, making assistance from the Court or your attorney difficult. Finding an agreeable resolution with the other party will be more effective.
The holidays are stressful enough for our clients, so we hope this post helps in making things a little easier. If you are unsure how the schedule applies to you and your family or have questions please contact our office today!