Christmas / Winter Break Parent-time in 2018

If you are following the standard Utah holiday schedule then in even-numbered years like 2018 the “custodial” parent gets the first portion of the Christmas school vacation, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, until 1 p.m. on the day halfway through the holiday (if there are an odd number of days) or 7 p.m. (if there are an even number of days) so long as the entire holiday period is equally divided. The “noncustodial” parent gets the second half of the school break.

If you have a single child then the Christmas school vacation begins the evening the child is released from school for the holiday until the evening before the child returns to school. If you have multiple school-age children on different schedules then it is presumed the kids should remain together for the holiday period beginning the first evening all children’s schools are let out for the holiday and ending the evening before any child returns to school.

The Christmas break is one of the trickier holidays when it comes to figure out what day the parents are supposed to exchange their child(ren). Much of this challenge stems from the fact schools do not all follow the same schedule.

For example, if your child(ren) have Christmas school break from December 21, 2018 through January 1, 2019 then the custodial parent would receive December 21 until December 26 at 7pm and the noncustodial parent would receive December 26 at 7pm until January 1 at 7pm.

Bear in mind special rules may apply if you live 150 miles or more apart or have children under age 5. (Under the standard out-of-state schedule the noncustodial parent gets the winter school break in even-numbered years like 2018). Also, not every order follows the standard holiday schedule and if your order contains different rules then you should follow the specific rules in your court order. (For example, some parents might agree to exchange their kids on Christmas day itself).

Are you getting all the parent-time you deserve? Are you confused how to calculate Christmas break parent-time? Give the lawyers at Wiser & Wiser a call today at 855-254-2600. This is a special time of year yet unfortunately many parents do not get to see their children because of interference from their co-parent. We fight to ensure our clients get to enjoy their parent-time rights.