When determining child custody plans, one of the most debated issues is often holidays. For many parents, Christmas, Easter, Hanukah and Thanksgiving are some of the most argued over. Holidays such as these are very important to families emotionally, religiously and even practically. They often are the only time when extended family gets together and traditions bring them close.
So what if you are a parent who does not practice organized religion? Or what if your religion’s holidays add up to less than your spouse’s? Ask any Texas sports fan what day they consider to be an important family event, and they’ll probably tell you that Super Bowl Sunday is a day they love to share with their family. So why can’t this count as a holiday?
For one father, he did just that. When he and his ex-wife completed their custody plan, he noticed that there was a very uneven holiday schedule. He had asked for Christmas and Easter while his wife had asked for her important Jewish holidays; however these outnumbered his Catholic ones.
When the father noticed the disparity, he simply asked for some more to even them out. Included were St. Patrick’s Day in celebration of his ancestry, Super Bowl Sunday and the NCAA basketball championship game in any year his favorite team made it to the contest. For him, cheering on his favorite team with his family were some of his fondest moments growing up, and he wanted to share that with his kids too.
Source: Yahoo! Sports, “Syracuse fan makes unusual custody request in divorce settlement,” Jeff Eisenberg, July 27, 2012
If you are involved in a custody contest with your spouse, our Dallas child custody page provides more information.