This may be the first Christmas you have to spend alone since getting a divorce from your former spouse. While you may have other family members and loved ones to celebrate with, the thought of being apart from your child on this day may be unbearable. And so, even though it explicitly directs against this in your established child custody agreement, you may wonder if there is a means of requesting visitation of your child on this sacred day. Please continue reading to learn whether you can have a Christmas visitation and how an experienced Morristown child custody lawyer at Graves Andrews, LLC can help make this legally doable.
How is Christmas visitation time typically scheduled between parents?
In your initial divorce proceedings, the New Jersey family court may incorporate a holiday visitation schedule within your enforced child custody agreement. This serves as an outline of which parent gets to spend what major holiday and break with their child, including Christmas. Well, the court may decide on this on a case-by-case basis. For example, they may have the child spend Christmas with one parent the first year, then the other parent the next year, and so on and so forth. They may do the same for Christmas Eve.
Or, they may rule that one parent should spend all Christmases with the child from this point forward. This may only be if the one parent observes this holiday based on their religious and cultural affiliations, while the other parent does not have any long-standing traditions or celebrations in place. Lastly, they may have the child split the day between parents, and spend the morning with one and the evening with the other. This may only be sustainable, though, if both parents live relatively close to one another.
Can I request Christmas visitation if it’s not in my custody agreement?
Say the New Jersey family court ultimately outlined that your former spouse has sole visitation rights of your child on Christmas. If this is particularly difficult for you, you may attempt to negotiate a compromise with your former spouse, such as being able to see your child for the latter half of the day. Instead of just reaching a verbal agreement, it is best to sign a written agreement in front of a neutral, third-party mediator, and then submit it to the judge for review and approval, which makes it legally binding.
However, most unfortunately, your former spouse is likely unwilling to negotiate their visitation rights on this holiday. If that is the case, you may have to take it upon yourself to file a post-judgment modification with the court. You must understand, though, that this legal action may only be deemed valid if you have a solid argument that not seeing your child on Christmas will negatively affect their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Before you step into a New Jersey family courtroom, you must seek a skilled Morris County divorce lawyer to stand by your side. Please contact our office, Graves Andrews, LLC, as soon as you are ready.