• Home
  • About Diana Telfer
  • Family Law
    ▼
    • Collaborative Divorce
    • Mediation
    • Premarital Agreements
    • Limited Representation Services
    • Child Custody/Child Support
    • Alimony
    • Negotiated Settlements
    • Special Master
  • Wills & Trusts
  • Blog
    ▼
    • In The News
  • Contact Us
  • Pay Online
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Telfer Family Law & Mediation

Salt Lake City Divorce & Mediation

phone number
801-464-4004

  • Home
  • About Diana Telfer
  • Family Law
    • Collaborative Divorce
    • Mediation
    • Premarital Agreements
    • Limited Representation Services
    • Child Custody/Child Support
    • Alimony
    • Negotiated Settlements
    • Special Master
  • Wills & Trusts
  • Blog
    • In The News
  • Contact Us
  • Pay Online

Divorce and Holiday Parent-Time in Utah – Tis the Season

December 1, 2021 By Diana Telfer

If you are a separated or divorced parent confused over your holiday parent-time schedule, you are not alone.  You would think figuring out when you have your children for a holiday would be straightforward.  Unfortunately, it is not so easy if your custody order follows the statutory holiday schedules.  Oftentimes, even attorneys are unable to agree on their interpretations of the holiday schedule.

The first step to figuring out what holiday schedule applies to you is looking at your custody decree or order.  You may have an order that specifically identifies the division of holidays with straightforward start and end times.  If so, count yourself lucky.  But it is more likely that you have a custody order that references one of the parent-time statutes (e.g. Utah Code Sections 30-3-35, 30-3-35.1, or 30-3-35.2).

The statutory parent-time schedules divide holidays between even-numbered years and odd-numbered years. Essentially holidays alternate between the parents throughout the year.  The statute lists the holidays assigned to the non-custodial parent (the parent who has less parent-time) in even and odd numbered years.  The custodial parent’s holidays in even-numbered years are the holidays assigned to the non-custodial parent in odd-numbered years.  In odd-numbered years, the custodial parent gets the non-custodial parent’s assigned even numbered year holidays.

The primary difference between the holiday schedules in Utah Code Section 30-3-35 and Section 30-3-35.1 is when the holiday ends.   In Section 30-3-35, holidays generally end at 7 p.m. the night before school resumes.  In Section 30-3-35.1, holidays extend through to the morning when school commences.  Let’s take the President’s Day holiday as an example.  The holiday typically involves a 3-day weekend with school resuming on Tuesday morning.  Under Section 30-3-35, the holiday weekend ends at 7 p.m. on Monday and under Section 30-3-35.1, the holiday weekend ends Tuesday morning when school resumes.

This is where it gets tricky.  Holidays include any snow days, teacher development days, or other days when school is not scheduled and is contiguous to the holiday. For instance, if school dismisses on Thursday before Martin Luther King’s birthday weekend then the holiday extends from Thursday through Monday at 7 p.m. or Tuesday morning when school commences, depending upon which schedule you follow.   If the holiday falls on a weekend or on a Friday or Monday and the total holiday period extends beyond that time and the parent is free to care for the children, then the holiday extends over the time school is out.   For instance, if a school takes off the week following President’s Day weekend, then the President’s Day holiday includes the weekend and the following week.  Parent-time would resume either at 7 p.m. the night before school starts or the day school starts.

There are other nuances to holidays, including when parent-time can commence.  The best advice is to use common sense.  Talk to the other parent to ensure you are both on the same page.  If you are not, reach out to your attorneys if you have one.   Holidays are difficult enough.  Fighting over the length of a holiday only adds to the stress.

Below are two easy to read charts outlining the holidays for each statute for your reference.

Holiday Schedule Under Utah Code § 30-3-35:

Holiday Schedule Under Utah Code § 30-3-35

Holiday Schedule Under Utah Code § 30-3-35.1:

Holiday Schedule Under Utah Code § 30-3-35

Filed Under: Blog

Primary Sidebar

"*" indicates required fields

Let’s Connect
801-464-4004
Preferred Method of Contact

From The Blog

Divorce, Abraham Maslow, and Financial Support

It would be lovely if the starting point of any divorce could be deciding what we want. But more often than not, my first consultation with clients involves questions of survival. Many clients fear what their financial future will look like. They have worked hard to get where they are financially. Divorce presents a sharp […]

Testimonials

I’ve been a past law enforcement officer of 15 years and I have worked with numerous attorneys during that time frame. Diana without a doubt is one of the choicest individuals that I have had the opportunity to associate with. Diana knows what she is doing and was compassionate to many of my concerns. I felt that she listend to what I had to say and took everything in to consideration. If I was wrong on an issue she was definitely not afraid to tell me that I was wrong on an issue. Which was good because in divorce and child custody cases there’s usually a lot of emotions involved. My case was definitely no exception. My significant other ended up with some emotional and psychological issues that made everything about 20 times harder unfortunately. After my significant other lost her attorney due to some issues. Diana ended up having to do the work of two attorneys. She did her best to help the other party understand while at the same time protect the interest of me and the kids. This divorce ended up taking over 2 years to settle because of numerous complications. Diana with her wisdom and knowledge was a blessing to our situation. She is not only a great person with integrity, but she is also a very knowledgeable attorney. I would definitely recommend her to anyone.

Footer

Telfer Family Law & Mediation
2150 South 1300 East #500
Salt Lake City, UT 84106
801-464-4004

Copyright © 2025 - All Rights Reserved | Web Design by The Crouch Group | Log in