The summer holidays have already arrived here in Scotland and are fast approaching in the rest of the UK. Travelling with children can be tough for all of us, but it can be even trickier for separated parents.
Things to think about if you’re planning a holiday without the other parent of your children include both legal and practical issues.
Do you have the consent of the other parent for a holiday?
Separation Agreements often include a clause which says that permission isn’t needed for trips of up to, say, two weeks. If your Agreement says this, take a copy of it with you. If you don’t have an Agreement which gives general consent for holidays, the law says that both parents must agree to the trip before it can go ahead. Think about this and, crucially, talk about it as far in advance as possible. The last thing you want to have to do in the lead up to a holiday is go to court for an order saying you can take the child/children away if their other parent doesn’t agree.
Do you have a court order allowing you take the child/children on holiday?
If so, take a copy of it with you, ideally a copy certified by the court or by your lawyer.
Do you have the same surname as your children?
This is quite a common problem especially for women. Checks made at airport and borders are increasing all the time, so make sure you are carrying all of the documents you might possibly be asked for: the child’s birth certificate to prove you are the parent, any deeds or documents (such as your divorce decree, new marriage certificate, deed poll) which prove your own change of name if it’s different from your name on the birth certificate. Basically, assume that you might need to show a complete paper trail indisputably proving that you are the parent of your child/children. This might be over the top, but better safe than sorry.
What are the requirements of the country you’re travelling to?
Some countries might require written evidence that you have consent for the travel from every other person with parental responsibility. You could consider getting the other parent to sign a consent form. Include as much information as possible in such a form – full contact details of the other parent, passport numbers for everyone concerned (maybe a copy of the other parent’s passport too), the dates of the trip and the specific destination.
How will the holiday affect your regular arrangements?
The arrangements and schedules in place for the children to spend time with each parent are usually suspended during holidays. How will this affect the children? Do you need to talk about this and agree that the children will be able to phone, Skype or Facetime their other parent while they are away? If so, try to reach a definite agreement about this, factoring time differences and plans for the trip.
As with everything to do with holidays and children, planning and communication are key.
