Child arrangements order wording

[MG08]

Can anyone with a child arrangements order clarify how holiday arrangements work as there is a dispute between parents.

Our child lives with mum and the court order states -

"Summer holidays
. * shall spend 2 blocks of 7 nights with the father, not consecutive and separated by at least a week."

Over the summer holidays period our child spent the above time with dad, 2 blocks of 7 nights.

Our standard arrangement is for every other weekend. Summer holidays, Easter and Christmas arrangements are specified in a different section of the order. To me this means the standard arrangement stops and the holiday arrangement begins. In holidays where there hasn't been a different arrangement specified, such as October and February half terms, my understanding is that the standard arrangement of every other weekend would continue during these times.

Dad is stating that during the summer holidays he should have had 2 blocks of 7 nights, as well as every other weekend on my time, however I disagree.

Can anyone advise on whether holiday arrangements supersede the standard contact schedule please?

i think you need to ask your solicitor to clarify.

Well if he didn't ask for 5050 I assume he didn't specifically ask for 2 weeks plus EOW in the holidays.

A few of my friends also have court orders and it's worded term time/holiday contact.

What does your say above where it says the EOW contact? Does it specify it's the term time arrangements?

He didn't ask for anything specific, his main request was that his parents spend 6 days a week with her and that I then have one day. I think our issue is that the court order was made before our child started school, so term time arrangements were a future thought. The Easter and Summer school holidays are mentioned separately to the EOW arrangement, no other school holidays are mentioned and he was given a 48hr period in the Christmas holidays. So to me because summer and Easter are mentioned as seperate arrangements I think term time arrangement of EOW stops and the holiday arrangements start for those holidays, but during other half terms the EOW arrangement continues.

I agree

Who wrote the order? The barristers? Can you contact who wrote it?

Dad's solicitor wrote it, so not really.

Who represented you? What input did you have and what directions did the judge give? Who represented you?

Sorry! Repeated my question.

What does your dd want to do?

I think our issue is that the court order was made before our child started school, so term time arrangements were a future thought.

The parents I know with orders made before their child started school either had them written so they had to make a new agreement once their kid started school - which doesn't necessarily have to be a Court Order - , or have gone back to Court.

The former tended to be written by a barrister not a solicitor for the reasons you have outlined.

I'm a family lawyer. Usually the alternate weekends stop over the holiday periods where blocks of time are provided for. Not sure why you are getting such a hard time on here about this OP, and you are using the correct terminology.

Was it by consent then?
I think you need it clarified

some of the posts you’ve had on here have been unnecessarily aggressive ignore them.

Just try and work it so that the weekend falls on a normal access weekend. This half term coming up we'll have the kids for the first half (as that's first weekend is our normal weekend) and they'll go to the other parent for the other half

Let your child see their dad. The holidays are in addition to. And whilst I'm here, be a bit more flexible, it works both ways - if he wants a fortnight's holiday day yes

I think you're right OP. I think you're going to need to go back to court to clarify it though - unless you come to some agreement with her dad.

Why do supposedly grown, mature adults decide to come together and bring a child into their lives, only to then bicker and fight over them throughout their precious formative years as though they are a piece of meat?
Your child will resent the pair of you when they are older, this pedantic behaviour does so much damage.

Did you have any representation?

I agree that the holiday arrangements are flawed as they complicate your ability to take the children away somewhere for 7 days. They could have been better written.

However it’s also up to you and your ex to do-parent and negotiate sensibly. If you do so just be mindful of your terminology e.g “her home”, “where she lives”. Anything is possible with a bit of curtesy :)

Try mediation. No need to bring this in front of the court with all the attendant stresses and costs if you two can hash this out between you.

Not sure what I have just read.. Not one of you know the reason behind the court order...

you need to take a step back...OP is simply trying to understand her court order..Not be told your assumptions about her.

I would speak to a solicitor.. OP

@MG08 Ignore the very unhelp comments on this thread, unless they have sight of the full text of your order they simply can't know what the intention is.

It depends on how the order is written, it's not a given either way. For example, our order is split term time contact and holiday contact. Where ''regular term time'' contact still applies during the holiday period it's clearly stated within the holiday section. For example, ''X days in the Easter holiday + regular weekend as per section III''. My ex made the same claims, and it took a solicitor and the court clerk confirming to him he was wrong for him to accept it. Very unnecessary, and unpleasant for all concerned.

You have to read the order in full to understand the intent. If you're not sure, ask a solicitor to clarify what it ordered.

The reason behind it? It’s a bog standard court order, get a grip

We are immediately suppose to see the OP as a victim of her ex ignoring the clues in the OP's language and the fact she is trying to decrease the amount of time their child spends with their father.

It's also for those 4 weeks to be spent with her friends as well which she cannot do when with dad.

A child who is not a teen social life with friends doesn't count.

Also when a child reaches secondary age, but especially their teenage years, both parents should listen to what they want regarding contact. Though I am aware some parents don't listen until their children are physically big enough to physically fight them.

@RedWingBoots
Thats not correct. A child will be listened to about their friends and activities. They might not get exactly what they want but the child is the centre of the arrangements, not one parent or the other.

As the dad’s solicitor wrote this order without any apparent representation from the OP or the child, it seems poorly written. Therefore now the child is at school and has a different life, the OP, the resident parent, should seek further advice.