Can My Ex Take Our Son Out of School for Holiday?

Author: Emma Jones

J.O asks

Can my ex-wife take our son out of school to go on holiday in term time? Or would this be a breach of the terms of our divorce?

She told me she can do as she wants and I can't stop her. I found a holiday to the same resort in half term for similar money but she is just having none of it. If she goes it means our son will get one week at school in April and miss the first week in May. She has told me to seek legal advice if I don't like it as she is going anyway.

What do I do? Any advice would be great

It can be very frustrating when you are separated from your child and their mother makes decisions that you do not agree with. Trying to work through these issues in an amicable way is often difficult and you can end up feeling pushed out and ignored.

If you need to formally communicate your concerns about this decision to your ex or the school, you can use our free Letter Builder.

As a parent, you do have a legal right to make decisions that influence the upbringing of your child and will have an impact on their lives. However, if your child lives with your ex-wife, then she has the responsibility of making decisions that relate to your child’s everyday life.

Unless taking your child out of school is going to have a major impact on his education, then this will be counted as an ‘everyday decision’. You do not say how old your son is but if he is in the middle of studying for his GCSEs or A-levels, you may have more of a case against this decision, or if he will be spending an extended time away from school.

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It is unfair of your wife to say that you must seek legal action to change her decision – and in this case is likely to have any effect. What you do need to do is find a way for you and your ex to communicate more effectively (read our article Developing An Amicable Relationship With Your Ex on this site). You have every right to have concerns over your son’s upbringing and it is good that you want to be as involved as possible.

Although it may feel as though your ex is sticking to her point of view just to spite you, it is worth trying to see it form her point of view. She probably genuinely believes that a small amount of time away from school will not harm your son’s education. There is often a lot of resentment between ex-partners and it is easy for this to play itself out in the decision making process.

Perhaps you and your ex could consider Using Mediation so that you can voice your feelings in a neutral environment. A counsellor can help you find a way to work together and be more considerate of each other’s opinions.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Letter Builder lets you generate a professional letter to your ex, solicitor or school. Takes 2 minutes. Try it now →

7 questions

Ask Separated Dads a Question

Nashers 16/01/2020 at 2:16 pm

Ex wife wants to take daughter on holiday.. abroad but we agreed last year after getting devoiced we would not take her abroad. But this year in February she has sent me a text saying that she is taking her. I've said I'm not happy with her taking her and just booking the holiday with out asking me first.. what can I do to stop her taking my daughter out of the country..???? Just can't believe she has booked it.. with out talking to me first..

SeparatedDads Editor 16/08/2018 at 9:54 am

The link here should help answer your question further.

Danny B 15/08/2018 at 10:43 am

My ex wife applied for passports for both my children, 9 and 4, and took them away on holiday to Spain, both without my knowledge or consent. I have parental responsibility for both my kids and am named on their birth certificates but their surname is the same as their mother whilst mine is different and my details were omitted from the application forms so the passports only entitle her to take the kids abroad. She is now seeking to take the kids abroad again and has (sarcastically) asked me for permission to do so and I have refused. Is this an offence under the law for which I could seek her to be prosecuted and how do I prevent her from just taking the kids out of the country any time she likes?
Regards
Danny B

Max 24/04/2017 at 11:53 am

My sons has a joint parental order for my Grandson who is 8 yrs old. He ants to take him on holiday abroad and the holiday has been booked and paid for. He originally asked his ex partner for permission prior to making application for a passport but unfortunately only obtained verbal agreement. We have now been informed by the passport office that she has objected against the application. This will obviously prevent my him taking him on the holiday.

Could my son apply directly to the court for permission. Unfortunately he has little money to fund solicitor's input.

marky 13/07/2016 at 11:41 am

Hi just wondering if my ex can get a passport without my permission I am on my sons birth certificate she's saying she can and doesn't need my permission just wondering if anyone can help me work this out

Jimbob 22/06/2016 at 1:20 pm

My ex wife is refusing to tell me where she is taking our children on holiday. In fact I am unsure if she is taking them or if it is her parents. I don't want to stop it. I just want to know where the children are going to be (and who with). I do have reservations about her parents taking them away but I have decided on balance (if this is what is happening) then the risks are outweighed by the distress stopping the holiday would cause. I have said this but I am being told that under no circumstances will she tell me where they are going or who with. My ex has demanded that all communication go through her solicitor. The pattern here is that when I make a query about access dates or similar he doesn't respond for weeks or months. His response to this has been that he has been instructed to not make any response to my request. He has also told me that if I contact her direct she will interpret this as harassment. I haven't sent any direct communication to my ex wife for over two years. When I did it was never harassing. In fact it was me that insisted we keep communication written (because she could be so volatile). She hated this and around two years ago decided to make everything go via solicitors (even basic stuff about dates and contact). Any advice? We were married when the kids were born and I have parental responsibility. This is yet another example in a long line of my ex being difficult, obstructive and vindictive.

Woody 15/09/2014 at 9:08 pm

Hi.I understand you position.how long is she looking to take your child away??!?I have a 9 yr old daughter who I have had access too and cared for throughout all her life on a weekly basis. Last year her birth mother decided to move to another city and change my daughters school mid term, to a location 45 minutes away from my home. I have still continued our informal arrangements of weekly care and support payments. (.bit of back story.)She has recently informed me that she wishes to fulfill her dream and travel the world.and will be taking my daughter with her for 12 MONTHS?!. I obviously didn't agree to this and she wishes to compromise and allow me to take full custody of my daughter and move her back to our local area (and original school of my daughters since reception) IF.i agree for her to go with her abroad for 6 months.so that she may return my daughter to me for the second 6 months with full custody.This, to me, is still not a compromise, however, I have verbally agreed in order for me to start the process of the custody / school application process.as I am in the belief that the Manchester county council will not allow this travel arrangement in the first place, leaving her not much choice than for me to take full care of my daughter.(as she has already purchased her tickets for her and her boyfriend).My personal approach is two fold.as I still have a dialogue (of sourts) with her mother.however, I want to ensure that I have a strong legal standpoint if our communications break down? I am guessing the below docs would hold you in beter stead??Parental responsibility agreementChildren Act form C1residence orderAs well as an in year admissions application to her previous school to ensure that she is received into her old school for the end of year 5.Am I missing anything???Aside for this. Am I correct in thinking that she will not be able to take my daughter traveling across thailand indonesia and India in the first place? My ex was a teacher an number of years ago (of drama), however, is there a circumstance that this would be expected??Sorry for this internal monologue however, I am only really piecing this whole subject together for the first time as I type.Anyway, I hope this helps but id hugely appreciated any feedback as this is the first I am discussing this myself.The saga continues!!RegardsDave

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