ATTORNEYS AT LAW 1009 W 7TH AVENUE ANCHORAGE, ALASKA 99501 TELEPHONE: (907) 279-4529 FAX: (907) 279-9223
©1997 by Steven Pradell
The summer offers parents a large block of time in which to exercise visitation with their children. Parents who are no longer together may desire to spend extra time with children during the summer, when school is not in session and work schedules can be modified to accommodate special activities.
In Alaska, there is no legally approved schedule for summer visitation. Custody decrees often provide parents who have limited visitation during the school year with extra time in the summer. With young children, courts may gradually increase visitation to a non-custodial parent, giving additional periods of time to that parent as the child grows older and is able to spend more time away from home. Some parents share summers equally, while others continue to visit using the same schedule that exists during the school year. Parents may have weekly visits, or month to month visitation. In many instances, a parent who lives outside of Alaska and has very little contact with a child during the school year may be awarded visitation which extends throughout the summer vacation period.
Parents who live far from one another must determine who will pay for transportation costs. If children are young, a chaperone may be required to fly with the child during visitation exchanges. The custodial parent should have time at the beginning and end of the summer to allow for a smooth transition to take place and to prepare the child in the fall for the start of the next school year.
A custody decree should specify that each parent provide the other with an itinerary of intended summer plans, and contact numbers and addresses so that the non-visiting parent may stay in touch with the children throughout the summer visitation period.
Sometimes children will tell one parent that they do not want to see the other parent during the summer. A parent may be apprehensive about allowing the other parent to have summer visitation. Unfortunately, these reasons alone do not justify failure to follow a custody and visitation order. To modify visitation, a parent must show that a change of circumstances has occurred and that modifying visitation is in the best interests of a child. The proper procedure is to discuss your concerns with an attorney before the visitation period begins, so that you can determine whether it is wise to ask a court for a modification prior to the start of the visitation.
Custodial parents may fear that the other parent will take the child outside of Alaska at the start of summer visitation in an attempt to begin a new custody proceeding in another state to try to modify custody. However, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act and the Parental Kidnap Prevention Act are laws which are designed to prevent parents from doing this. Parents who abduct children and travel interstate may be subject to both state and federal criminal penalties.
If you are a parent undergoing a case involving custody, or if you desire to change an existing visitation schedule, it may be wise to discuss your options with a lawyer.
Steven Pradell is an Anchorage attorney with a practice emphasizing family law, including divorce, custody, child support and adoption. ©1997 by Steven Pradell. This article is not intended to provide legal advice and should not be relied on for that purpose. The law office of Pradell and Associates provides low cost legal consultations. A helpful staff provides prompt, courteous services to meet your legal needs. Give Pradell and Associates a call today, at (907) 279-4529-- (279-4LAW).