With the Holiday Cheer often comes parenting time and other child-related disputes surrounding the holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. To avoid some potential of dispute, we suggest you look at your most current custody order(s) and the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines. With this, you can engage the other parent in a discussion and try to reach an agreement about who has what time and drop-offs and pick-up times and places well in advance. Try to account for foreseeable problems, such as bad weather or those that are unique in your situation, such as the fact that sometimes life circumstances cause delay, or a parent is generally late. Decide in advance how to handle this to avoid an unnecessary holiday dispute. With this, you can maximize your chances of having smooth sailing at this important time of the year. Also, by taking steps now, you can identify if there will be problems, talk with you parenting coordinator, attorney, and if no solution is available, still have time to work with your counsel to get assistance from the courts before the holidays get here. In extreme situations, if you are statistically certain a problem will occur, start the conversation about a solution now with your counsel. We hope this letter will help you make the most of the time with your kids for the holidays as we leave 2018 and enter 2019.
Sincerely,
Bryan Ciyou and Julie Dixon of Dixon & Moseley, P.C.