Christmas is a magical time for families, with the promise of Santa and festive activities for family fun. However, there is one thing that can get in the way of that: child arrangements.
To keep the Christmas magic alive, it is important to get legal advice early so that disputes don’t take place as the advent calendars are being opened.
Disputes can occur quite quickly over the Christmas period, with one of the most common mistakes being people leaving arrangements until the last minute.
Parents leaving agreements until the last moment creates lots of unnecessary conflict. Once conflict has started, coming to an agreement on where the child will spend time over the festive period can become all the more difficult.
An issue may also arise if parents mistakenly believe that they can ignore pre-arranged Child Arrangements orders and instead make their own verbal agreements over the festive period.
If there are any changes to a pre-agreed Child Arrangements Order, it can lead to a breach and potential enforcement proceedings.
Often, parents will ignore the wishes of their child to ensure that they can spend the most time as possible with their child on Christmas Day.
Additionally, agreements can see children being passed between family members multiple times per day, ignoring their wishes of who they would like to spend time with or what they would like to do.
Creating child arrangements early for the Christmas period can help to reduce festive stress and give children stability throughout Christmas.
Starting discussions early can prevent the pressure that is associated with parents being rushed when trying to create plans at the last moment.
It also allows children to be aware of what is going to be happening on their Christmas day so that they can feel more secure and settled ahead of time.
Should parents not be able to agree on child arrangements over Christmas, getting support early allows parents to get professional support, whether that is through mediation or court proceedings.
Parents must remember to keep the needs of the child at the centre of every decision that they make about Christmas.
Our talented solicitors are here to ensure that you and your children have a magical Christmas without the stress of child arrangements putting a dark cloud over the day.
We are here to support families with child arrangements so that Christmas is something that families can enjoy, not dread.
For support with child arrangements over Christmas, get in touch with our team!
