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Summer Possession Notice for the Managing Conservator

Summertime is almost here!  And with it, summer possession notice needs to be sent out soon.  Schedules for parents with a Standard Possession schedule will start too.  So, as I’ve already posted,  parents who live 100 miles or less from each other need to give summer possession notice.  The possessory conservator need to send notice to the managing conservator on or before April 1st, unless their decree says something different.  And, if you are the managing conservator you need to send your notice back to the other parent on or before April 15th.

The managing conservator’s summer possession notice to the other parent is contained in the Standard Possession too.  The managing conservator gives notice to the other parent about 1) one scheduled weekend time of parenting that won’t happen and 2) one weekend during the other parent’s long time during the summer that will happen.

Normal Scheduled Weekend

The managing conservator parent gets a long period of time with the child that is uninterrupted like the other parent gets to allow for vacation or other plans in the Standard Possession. The only way that can happen is if one normal weekend time with the possessory conservator parent doesn’t happen.  So, the managing conservator gets to choose one weekend that doesn’t interfere with either Father’s Day or with the long period of time that the other parent chose.  For example, Sam and Diane have two kids in elementary school and the school year ends on June 3rd this year.  Diane (managing conservator) receives notice on March 27th that Sam (possessory conservator) is going to have the kids from July 3rd through August 2nd.  Diane now chooses a 1st, 3rd or 5th weekend in June that doesn’t interfere with Father’s Day or one of those weekends in August that Sam won’t have the kids so that she gets a long time with the kids to make some plans.

Weekend during Long Summer Possession

The managing conservator also gets a weekend during the other parent’s long summer possession to spend time with the kids.  This one is a little different, and the managing conservator chooses a weekend during the long periods of time they got notice about earlier.  So, using Sam and Diane as our couple, Diane chooses a weekend that she would like to spend with the kids between July 3rd and August 2nd.

Summer Possession Notice

After deciding which weekends work for summertime plans, the managing conservator sends notice to the other parent on or before April 15th.  Using our couple, Diane sends her notice to Sam on or before April 15th about her two weekends described above that she is going to spend with the kids.

The details about how the summer possession notice needs to be sent and who picks up and returns the kids for these times are contained in the decree of divorce in the section about possession and the summer possession.  Review your decree for the specifics of your case.  If you have questions, contact a family law attorney for help understanding your decree.

Jill O’Connell is a family law attorney, 940-497-5454.

See these related posts:

Spring Tips

Summer Possession

Divorce Forms