Most Illinois parents who divorce want what is best for their children regarding new family lifestyles and how they pertain to the children’s overall emotional and physical well-beings. When former spouses bicker over even the smallest of details regarding child custody or visitation, it can be stressful for all involved. Readers may be surprised to know that some raging disputes include seemingly benign issues, such as with which parent children will spend Christmas.
A judge in a state not far from Illinois recently said that many children become the focus of a yearly battle between their parents as to which parent will spend Christmas with the children. He further noted that parents unable to resolve such issues on their own sometimes retain legal assistance to request that an emergency motion be made to the court. In some states, the court may grant special visitation to a parent or grandparent if it deems that such a visit is in the best interests of the children.
Many court orders regarding child custody and visitation include stipulations that pertain to holiday visits. Still, it seems that some parents repeatedly engage in hot-tempered disputes about the holidays and are sometimes unable to resolve the issues through self-mediation. In such situations, many turn to the court for solutions.
Illinois parents who wish to keep their children’s best interests at heart but have found their attempts to negotiate solutions to disputes about Christmas visitation fruitless may wish to seek legal guidance in the matter. An experienced family law attorney will likely have handled similar cases before and can advise a parent of how best to proceed in light of such legal challenges. Scheduling a consultation with an attorney in the area would typically be the first logical step to take in the process.
Source: ecmpostreview.com, “Child visitation for holidays“, Derrick Knutson, Dec. 21, 2015
