1 | AGREE FIRST COME FIRST SERVE
Co-Parenting & Planning a Holiday with Your Children? You’re imagining finally taking the children on that long-awaited fun holiday to see family or enjoy some sun and sea, but you haven’t discussed this with your ex-partner yet. Are you worried they might try to prevent you from traveling with the children? At Family Mediation Services, we recommend agreeing in principle that all future holidays will be on a first-come, first-served basis. This means the first parent to text their desired dates for their half of the holiday time gets those dates.
2 | A GOOD AMOUNT OF NOTICE
As soon as you have a travel date in mind, inform the other parent. You don’t need to specify the destination yet; just let them know you’re planning to travel with the children, for example, during the second week of the summer holidays for 10 days. This way, you can reserve those dates. Inform them that you will confirm your plans as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days before travel. By doing this, you have provisionally blocked out the dates, and the other parent cannot request them, especially if you are not asking for more than 50% of the six-week holiday period.
3 | SOME COUNTRIES REQUIRE WRITTEN PERMISSION
Next, you should obtain written permission from the other parent, as some countries require their consent before allowing you to enter with the children. Before booking the holiday, check if the destination country requires this consent (visit www.gov.uk). If needed, have the other parent sign a document like this: ‘I, [Name], agree to allow the children [Names and Dates of Birth] to travel with [Name] to [Country] in [Month or Dates], 2024.’ Ensure the document is signed, dated, and includes their address.
4 | GET HOLD OF THE PASSPORT
Sometimes, the other parent has the passport and may not want to give it to you, so ensure you have it in hand before booking a holiday. Generally, the passport should remain with the main resident parent unless a court order states otherwise. It may be worth agreeing that once a parent indicates they will be booking travel, the other parent must hand over the passport. There is usually no reason why the parent traveling cannot keep the passport until the trip is completed, then return it to the resident parent within, for example, one week of returning.
5 | TELL THE CHILDREN!
It’s nice to let children know about your plans, but it’s advisable to warn them that the other parent must approve first. This prevents them from becoming overly expectant, especially if you think the other parent may disagree. If necessary, you can go to court. At Family Mediation Services, we offer free information on how to submit an online court application yourself.
At Family Mediation Services, we can help with co-parenting & planning a holiday with your children. If you’re on a low income, we can obtain public funding through legal aid. For higher earners, public funding is available through the government vouchers scheme.
Typically, you will need one or two remote-video or in-person meetings. You may choose to negotiate in separate rooms, with the mediator shuttling between the rooms to help you reach a written agreement. This agreement can be used for travelling this year or in future years, ensuring everyone knows where they stand well in advance, as notice periods will have been agreed upon.
2 Comments
Susannah
Hi there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my zynga group?
There’s a lot of people that I think would really appreciate your content.
Please let me know. Thank you
admin
Hi! Absolutely, feel free to share and tag us in your post – we would be delighted to answer any questions your group may have!