Spouse denying access... what to do?

[NBDad]

You could always word it a bit differently to account for consecutive weeks as well. The intent when I wrote it was to work around my ex, who has issues with taking care of the children properly for any length of time.

Sun through Sat is logical, as it follows the calendar.

By adding this line to that whole section:

The parties agree that the below Holiday/Vacation schedule shall supersede and take precedence over the normal custody/access already laid out.

It eliminates argument over "but it's MY weekend", etc.

The thing to remember though is that it works both ways.

Yes, both of you are going to lose at least one day out of your normal time. However, no one loses more time than the other, and you both get equal vacation time.

Setting a day for when you have to provide your dates AND setting out WHO gets first choice and when, goes a long way in eliminating petty little arguments and last minute notices.

Of course my ex is a damn lunatic most of the time, so I need something that's very very simple and drawn in crayon.

[Cobourg]

Just dealing with a similar thing with our vacations this year.
This is the first year of an access agreement. It was signed in March. Unfortunatly, I think that it is not comprehensive enough and will have to make some modifications because of this and other issues.

The agreement basically says that by June 1 of each year we will exchange vacation requests.
We both have 2 x 7 days for vacation.
The may be taken together with the other parents permission.
If there is some "overlapping" of vacation time I will have the final say in "even" years and her in odd.

I have the kids EOW and one night per week.

I requested that my vacation would start on the Friday of her weekend and run for 7 days until the Friday of my regularly scheduled weekend.
It would give me a total of 10 days.

She did not like that very much.

We were in court for a Management Conference and she asked the judge to weigh in on the subject.
She stood up in court and said "your Honour, when does a week start".
He took off his glasses and replied "I am not sure. What makes a good dinner?"
She did not get the hint and kept on at him about me having 10 days in a row and was "abusing" the system etc etc etc.

He told her to sit down and moved onto something else.

She eventually got the idea and changed her vacation schedule to mirror what I had done.
Worked fine for all concerned.

Sometimes people just like to bitch and complain because they just don't know what else to do.
All you can do is what you think is best for your kids and you. Others may not think so, but they are still your kids.
You will have to deal with your Ex for a long time, so pick your battles carefully.

Good Luck