Holiday Parenting Time Guidelines

With Christmas vacation quickly approaching, it is important to be familiar with the Holiday Parenting Time Schedule. The Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines (“IPTG”) have an entire section on Holiday Parenting Time and a subsection specifically for Christmas vacation. The Christmas vacation section reads as follows:

The Christmas vacation shall be defined as beginning on the last day of school and ending the last day before school begins again. The Shelbyville Central Schools calendar can be found here. Absent agreement of the parties, the first half of the period will begin two hours after the child is released from school. The second half of the period will end at 6:00 p.m. on the day before school begins again.

Each party will receive one half (1/2) of the total days of the Christmas vacation, on an alternating basis as follows:

1. In even numbered years, the custodial parent shall have the first one half (1/2) of the Christmas vacation and non-custodial parent shall have the second one half (1/2) of the Christmas vacation.
2. In odd numbered years, the non-custodial parent shall have the first one half (1/2) of the Christmas vacation and custodial parent shall have the second one half (1/2) of the Christmas vacation.
3. In those years when Christmas does not fall in a parent’s week, that parent shall have the child from Noon to 9:00 P.M. on Christmas Day.
4. No exchanges under this portion of the rule shall occur after 9:00 p.m. and before 8:00 a.m., absent agreement of the parties.

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day shall not be considered separate holidays under the IPTG.

To illustrate how Christmas break may go, consider this example. If your child gets out of school on December 15th and goes back on January 3rd, there are 18 overnights of Winter Break. As such, for the winter holidays in 2022-2023, the custodial parent shall have the child(ren) from December 15th until December 24th, and then the non-custodial parent shall have the child(ren) on December 24th for the remainder of the break. The custodial parent shall also have the child(ren) from Noon to 9 p.m. on Christmas Day.

If you are having problems receiving your parenting time, contact McNeelyLaw today. Call us at 317-825-5110 to talk to an experienced family law attorney who can help you.

This McNeelyLaw LLP publication should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion of any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own lawyer on any specific legal questions you may have concerning your situation.