Boise Family Law Lawyers - Idaho Divorce Attorneys (208) 472-2383

Holiday Visitation
With the holidays approaching quickly many people are scrambling to make certain their visitation schedules are in order and they know who has the kids and when.  As a Boise Divorce Attorney I receive numerous calls concerning visitation this time of year.

Changing Visitation
When you go through a divorce or a custody case the final order will include a visitation schedule.  This schedule is not just the weekly schedule rather it will include holiday visitation for every year until the child turns 18 years.

As a Boise Family Law Attorney I receive several last minute phone calls from individuals wanting to change their holiday visitation.  Sometimes they want to change the dates, sometimes they want to make the visit longer and sometimes they want to flip-flop holidays.  While change is not out of the question, it can be difficult to get on short notice.

The best way to get your visitation changed is by mutual agreement between the parties.  This ensures that there is a smooth change and everyone is in agreement.  If you have an unforeseen incident and the other party does not want to give you their permission for a change you can ask the court for its help.  However, it can be difficult to get into court quick enough to fix the problem.  When this happens and you go ahead with your plans, it is a great possibility that you will be brought up on contempt charges for violating the custody order.

Emergency Change in Visitation
Part of the reason the court does not want people running to it constantly to change a visitation schedule is that you have very advance notice of when and where your visitation will be.  It expects you to plan accordingly.  There are those situations, however, where you have not control over the situation.  For example, say you are out of town with your child and are scheduled to return in time for a Sunday night custody swap and there is a snow storm and you can't get back for three days.  Now while this is a true emergency situation, it is unlikely that your Boise Divorce Attorney can even get in front of a judge to get an order allowing the change.  In these situations, if the other side persists in bringing contempt charges against you the judge will look at your violation of the order in a different light than had you acted intentionally without the other party's permission.

My best advice as a Boise Family Law Lawyer is to plan ahead of time and stick to your schedule as best as you can.  If you need to make a change and you and the other party cannot agree contact your attorney several months in advance to ensure you get the best possible outcome.

If you need to speak to a Boise Divorce Attorney please give us a call, (208) 472-2383 and see what we can do for you.