Georgia Parenting Plans: Who Gets Thanksgiving Weekend?

Your regular parenting schedule gives you the weekend after Thanksgiving. The holiday schedule gives the other parent Thanksgiving Day. Who picks up the children Friday morning? The answer depends on the exact language of your Georgia parenting plan. Start by checking when the holiday ends, which schedule controls, and where the exchange is supposed to happen.

Read the holiday schedule and weekend schedule together

Pull up the signed order and any later orders that changed it. Find the Thanksgiving entry and check whether it assigns the holiday by odd or even year, gives specific dates, or defines the break by reference to the school calendar. Then check how the plan handles conflicts between holiday and regular parenting time. The Georgia Superior Court model parenting plan has separate sections for these questions and for transportation. The wording in your own order is what you need to review.

Put the exchange on the calendar

Consider a hypothetical Gwinnett County family. Their order gives one parent Thanksgiving from Wednesday at 6 p.m. until Friday at 6 p.m. and says the holiday schedule takes precedence. If the other parent’s regular weekend starts Friday at 3 p.m., those schedules overlap for three hours. Write down both times, then use the order’s conflict provision to identify the exchange time. A plan that gives a parent the entire school break could produce a different result.

Confirm the details before travel

If the order uses school dismissal or the return to school as a reference point, check the calendar for your child’s actual school. A teacher workday or an early dismissal can change the time you had in mind. Also check who drives, where the handoff takes place, and whether the order requires notice before a trip. If you are proposing a change, write out the exact pickup and return times and ask the other parent to confirm. Keep the exchange logistics separate from other disagreements.

Bring the specific conflict to our office

If the language seems to point to two different exchange times, bring the signed parenting plan, any later orders, the school calendar, and the messages about the holiday. Highlight the sentences that appear to conflict. If you’re looking for a Norcross family law attorney to review your parenting plan, our office can explain how the provisions fit together and discuss options if the schedule needs clarification or a formal change. That conversation is easier when you can show exactly where the two schedules overlap.

Call our office to speak with an attorney about your Georgia parenting plan.