About this episode

Samantha Boss discusses how to prevent custody fights over vacation clauses in parenting plans during the summer.

Summer's coming, and if your parenting plan has a vague vacation clause, the same fights you had last year are already loading. Who asks first. How long you can be gone. Whether your ex gets “makeup time.” Whether you owe them an itinerary down to the restaurant. None of it should be a fight, and all of it becomes one when the plan doesn't spell it out. This week I'm walking through the six vacation fights I see over and over, and the exact clauses that shut each one down before it starts. First, the question nobody asks: does vacation even have to be during summer? I don't think so. Summer-only is predictable, but it's also peak pricing and packed destinations. Year-round vacation language gives you flexibility, cheaper travel, and room for the life you're building, not the one you're surviving right now. Stop living small inside your parenting plan. Ask for the vacation time your future self will want, not what this year's budget says you can use. Then the fights. “I asked first” is not a clause. I'll show you why notice-based language, 30 or 60 days, beats first-come-first-served and April 1st deadlines. How long can you be gone? That's a custom build, because three…

People in this episode

Host: Samantha Boss

Topics covered

• vacation clauses
• custody fights
• parenting plans
• summer vacations
• co-parenting
• family law

Keywords

• vacation
• custody
• parenting plan
• summer
• co-parenting
• itinerary
• makeup time
• notice-based language

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• 41: Why the Priority List in Your Parenting Plan Matters More Than You Think · July 8, 2026 · 16 min
• 40: The Things No One Warns You About After the Divorce Is Final · June 23, 2026 · 22 min
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