Q: Non-custodial parent rights during spring break in Texas
I'm trying to understand my rights as the non-custodial parent regarding spring break visitation. The custody agreement mentions specific terms for spring break, but I'm unclear about how the weekend visitation before spring break affects my rights. Could you explain my rights in this context?
A:
In the standard possession order, Spring Break begins on the day school is recessed for Spring Break and ends on the day school resumes after Spring Break. Commonly, school is recessed for Spring Break on a Friday at the end of the school day runs through the following week and then resumes on the following Monday at the beginning of the school day.
A court may alter this standard possession schedule in the actual custody order depending upon the agreement of the parties or the evidence presented.
Usually you will see the standard possession language that a parent's possession of the child during Spring Break will begin at 6:00 PM on the day the child is dismissed from school for the school's spring vacation and will end at 6:00 PM the day before school resumes after that vacation or, alternatively, will begin at the time the child's school is dismissed for the school's spring vacation and will end at the time the child's school resumes after the school's spring vacation.
All holiday possession, including Spring Break, preempts "Weekend" and "Weekday" periods of possession unless for some reason (and this is not typical) the court order specifically alters this general rule.
A:
To be clear, that usually means that under the standard possession order, the parent who has possession for Spring Break gets two consecutive weekends along with the entire week between them.
So, if the weekend possession schedule is 1st, 3rd, and 5th or 2nd and 4th, the parent who has possession for Spring Break will ultimately have three weekends of possession in a row in most school districts.
Of course, the parents can (and often do) modify this by agreement.
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