Decoding Holiday Custody Orders: A Parent's Guide to Navigating Possession Periods

Holidays are already stressful, no need to fret over when you have the kids.

As much as attorneys try to simplify the language in custody orders, there are times when the simplification then makes things more complicated than they need to be.

For instance, what does this mean:

"Notwithstanding the weekend and Thursday periods of possession of Parent B, Parent A and Parent B shall have the right to possession of the child as follows:"

This language is explaining that the weekend periods of possession are overridden by the holidays and you should follow the holiday schedule instead of the weekend possession. Same with the Thursday periods of possession.

An example of this happened in 2024 for Thanksgiving. November 2024 had a rare fifth Friday, which would normally mean that a parent exercising a standard possession schedule would begin their period of possession on that day. However, Thanksgiving was on the Thursday immediately prior to that fifth Friday. which means that the Thanksgiving holiday provision would override that fifth Friday. Therefore, in November 2024, the parents act as if there is no fifth Friday and the parent exercising a standard possession schedule would not get any possession that weekend unless even-numbered years is theirs for Thanksgiving possession.

What about the child's birthday?

This is another tricky one because most possession schedules allow for the parent "not otherwise entitled under this order to present possession of the child" to have possession from 6pm until 8pm on the child's birthday. So, does this mean that if the child's birthday is on December 28, where most parents exchange the children at noon for the Christmas holiday, then the parent who dropped off at noon can turn around and get another two hours that same day? Or is it only for days where the parent not in possession didn't see the child at all that day?

Well, unfortunately, even attorneys disagree on the interpretation of this provision and to the best of my ability, I have been unable to find any case law to weigh in. This is where it will be important to hire an attorney who is familiar with your judge and how they have interpreted similar scenarios in the past.

If you are looking for an attorney in Collin County, Denton County, or Dallas County that can help you interpret or formulate a possession schedule, please contact Mary Neal Family Law, PLLC to schedule a consultation.