Schools close 30 June this year.  They re-open 05 September.

This will be the first Summer since 2019 that significant travel is possible.  People in record numbers will be vacationing away from home.  Some of those will be kids of separated parents. 

You still have time to make arrangements for that trip to Disneyland, or visit the grandparents in Montreal, or take that long-postponed tour of southern Europe. 

Here’s what you need to do:

·       Discuss it with the other parent.  Be respectful.  Give as much detail of your plans as possible.  The stay at home parent needs to know whether a report of a shooting at Punta Cana is a concern when you and the kids are at Cabo (nope).

·       Be flexible.  Maybe your plans would unreasonably interfere with what the other parent was hoping to do with the kids on their Summer parenting period.  Try to work out something that works for everyone: especially the kids.

·       Make sure you have travel documents! The federal employees (PSAC) strike means no passports will get processed.

·       Make sure all necessary vaccinations are arranged.  Some countries have diseases we don’t see often.  Hepatitis A and B are common in Mexico.  Twinrix is your best bet.  If you’re going to Morocco, you should be looking into vaccines for Hep-A and B, typhoid, rabies, and meningitis.  Going to Laos?  Get a shot against Japanese encephalitis as well.

If you can’t get the other parent to agree – or if you oppose the other parent’s travel plans – make sure you get to a lawyer ASAP.  It might take a month or so to get into court.  You don’t want to be going to court on the day your reservations become non-refundable.

Whether you and your ex agree to the travel (if so: good job!), or you have to go to court: plan on the kids spending some Facetime or telephone time with the stay at home parent during your trip.  A couple of minutes every couple of days will let your kids share some of their experiences with their other parent (Look: we’re on top of the Eiffel Tower!).  That’s likely to make the trip better for the kids.  It’s also likely to make the stay at home parent feel involved.  They will tend to be more cooperative for the next trip.

Lots of our kids have been isolated by Covid for more than 2 years.  This Summer is a chance to bust out and go somewhere.  Given a little cooperation and planning, it could be a great Summer.

As is traditional, we offer a Summer cocktail recipe: Pour a double espresso and 1 tsp sugar into a tall glass.  Add 2 ounces of dark rum, 2 ounces of fresh lime juice, and ice.  Stir, and top up with soda water.  Garnish with a lime slice.  This is what a Cuba Libre wants to be when it grows up.

At Clear Legal, we have been helping parents plan their Summers (and their cocktails) since 1990.