Intro

In Utah, “parent-time” is the legal term for what most people call visitation—the time a child spends with the parent who does not have the majority of overnights. When parents can’t agree on a schedule, Utah law creates a standard minimum parent-time schedule for children ages 5–18, now found in Utah Code 81-9-302 (formerly 30-3-35). This standard schedule includes both a regular weekday/weekend rotation and a detailed holiday and school-break rotation.

For many families, this standard schedule is what the court orders, sometimes with a few tweaks. Other families have 50/50 schedules or customized plans that look different from the “minimum.” But even then, the holiday and break rules in the code are often used as a starting point or as a tie-breaker when parents disagree about who gets a particular day.

This article is meant to help you translate the statute into plain English so you can see:

• how the regular parent-time rotation works,
• how holidays and school breaks (Thanksgiving, Winter Break, Spring Break, etc.) are divided between parents, and
• what happens when two schedules conflict (for example, when a birthday or Father’s Day falls during the other parent’s weekend or summer time).

You do not need to memorize the statute or become a lawyer to use this guide. The goal is to give you a clear road map you can use at home when you’re trying to figure out “who gets what time” under a standard Utah parent-time order.

In the code, “Custodial” generally is used as a reference to the parent who has more parent-time and “non-Custodial” generally refers to the parent who has less parent-time.  Your Decree of Divorce may state which one you are.

Important: Remember to always begin by referring to the most recent court orders or decree.   Orders or decrees may differ from the code and the orders/decree have priority over standard code provisions.  If the orders/decree refer to the code,  parents should follow the code as it was at the time of their court order!  That is the law of their case.

Note on Discussion Below: There are many comments on this post from previous years referencing “30-3-35.” Please be aware that while the advice on how to split holidays is still generally relevant, the code section numbers discussed in those older comments are no longer in use.

The Standard Holiday Schedule (Children 5-18)

Reference: Utah Code 81-9-302(12)

Many Utah “standard” parent-time orders for children ages 5–18 are based on the holiday schedule in Utah Code 81-9-302 when the parents haven’t agreed to something different. Just like under the old 30-3-35, most holidays alternate between the custodial and non-custodial parent in odd- and even-numbered years. Your status as “Custodial” or “Non-Custodial” does not change from year to year—what changes is which parent has a particular holiday in a given odd or even year, as shown in the chart below.

Key Updates to Watch For:

• Juneteenth: This is now permanently codified in the holiday schedule.
• Fall Break: Still commonly referred to as “UEA Weekend,” though the statute simply calls it Fall Break.

The Rotation Schedule (2025 & Beyond) (See the chart below for which parent claims the holiday in Even vs. Odd years)

Exceptions & Clarifications

• Mother’s Day & Father’s Day: These always go to the respective mother or father (9 a.m.–7 p.m.), regardless of the year.
• Birthdays: The code splits this into the day of the birthday and a ‘day before/after’ block. In even years, the non-custodial parent gets the actual birthday (3–9 p.m.) and the custodial parent gets a 3–9 p.m. visit the day before or after. In odd years, those roles flip.
• The “School vs. Work” Rule: Remember, under 81-9-302, if a holiday falls on a Friday or Monday and you are free from work and the child is free from school, you may be entitled to keep the child for that extra day, extending the weekend.

Order of Precedence Under Utah Code 81-9-302(6)

When schedules collide, which parent-time “wins”?

Legal fights often flare up when schedules overlap — for example, when a child’s birthday falls on Thanksgiving, or Father’s Day lands in the middle of Mom’s summer vacation week. Utah Code 81-9-302(6) solves this by creating a clear “order of precedence”: a simple ranking of which schedule wins when two schedules conflict.

Think of it like a stack of trump cards. The higher card wins, and the lower one drops out for that day. Here’s the order, from strongest to weakest:

• Tier 1 – Mother’s Day & Father’s Day: The top trump cards.

  Mother’s Day is always with the mother (or the parent designated for that holiday in your order). Father’s Day is always with the father (or the parent designated in your order). Under 81-9-302(6)(a)(i) and the holiday table in 81-9-302(12), these days beat everything else — weekends, regular holidays, and even summer vacation. If there is a conflict, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day wins.

• Tier 2 – The Child’s Birthday.

  The child’s birthday (and the “day before/after” birthday time) normally takes precedence over other holidays and over extended summer parent-time. There is one critical exception: if a parent is exercising uninterrupted extended summer time and has taken the child away from that parent’s residence, the birthday does not interrupt that trip. In plain English: if Dad is on his uninterrupted week and takes the child to Disneyland, Mom’s claim to the birthday visit is suspended for that year. Birthdays do not beat Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

• Tier 3 – Other Holidays (Thanksgiving, Winter Break, Memorial Day, Halloween, etc.).

  All other holidays in the statute come next. They override the regular weekend and mid-week rotation. For example, if it is Dad’s “normal” weekend but Mom has Memorial Day on the holiday rotation that year, Mom gets the Memorial Day holiday period — even if that means Dad’s usual weekend gets skipped without make-up time, unless your decree says otherwise.

• Tier 4 – Extended Summer Parent-Time.

  Extended summer parent-time under 81-9-302(3) (up to four weeks for the non-custodial parent, plus two uninterrupted weeks for the custodial parent) sits above the regular rotation but below holidays and birthdays. Those summer weeks can displace normal weekends and mid-week visits, but they still yield to Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and the child’s birthday (subject to the travel exception), as well as the other listed holidays.

• Tier 5 – Regular Weekend & Weekday Rotation.

  Finally, the alternating weekends and any mid-week visits are the “baseline” schedule that fills in the gaps. This is the lowest tier. Whenever a higher-tier event (holiday, birthday, or summer week) overlaps, the higher-tier schedule wins.

This hierarchy is built directly into Utah Code 81-9-302(6) (previously found in 30-3-35 before the 2024 “Great Renumbering”). If your decree simply says you follow the standard schedule in the code, this is the “which schedule wins?” roadmap courts and commissioners use when two schedules collide. Always start with your specific decree, because if your order is different, the order controls.

Enforcing Parent-Time

What if the other parent doesn’t follow the schedule?

A parent-time schedule is a court order, not a suggestion. Both parents are legally required to follow it, even if they disagree with how it works or feel the other parent isn’t “earning” their time. At the same time, most everyday parent-time problems are treated as a civil issue, not a police matter.

Don’t call the police for ordinary parent-time disputes (unless there is danger)

If the other parent is late, refuses a visit, or keeps the child longer than ordered, most law-enforcement officers in Utah will say they cannot “swap the child” or force a parent to hand a child over on the spot. They usually treat parent-time issues as civil disputes and will only act directly if there is an immediate safety concern or a crime such as kidnapping or child abuse.

• If you believe your child is in immediate physical danger, call 911.
• If the issue is missed, late, or refused parent-time, the court — not the police — is the place to fix it.

Step 1: Go back to your written order

Start by carefully re-reading your most recent decree or custody/parent-time order. Make sure you understand:

• the exact exchange times and locations,
• how holidays and breaks are supposed to work, and
• whether your order has any special provisions that differ from the “standard” schedule.

If your order is different from the default code section, you must follow your court order.

Step 2: Document what is happening

If the other parent repeatedly ignores the schedule, keep calm and start a paper trail:

• Save text messages or emails about exchanges.
• Write down dates and times when visits were denied, cut short, or delayed.
• Note any witnesses.

This documentation can become important if you later ask the court to enforce the order.

Step 3: Try to resolve it (if it is safe to do so)

In lower-conflict cases, a short written message that quotes the order and asks to get “back on the court-ordered schedule” can sometimes fix the problem without a court fight. Do not retaliate by withholding child support or by violating the order yourself — Utah courts expect both parents to keep following all parts of the order, even if the other parent is not.

Step 4: When court involvement makes sense – Motion to Enforce Order

If the other parent continues to violate the schedule, Utah courts allow you to file a Motion to Enforce Order (sometimes called a Motion to Enforce Domestic Order). This is the current name for what used to be called an “Order to Show Cause.”

In a Motion to Enforce, you ask the judge or commissioner to:

• confirm that there is a valid order,
• find that the other parent is not following it, and
• order consequences, which can include make-up parent-time, money judgments (for things like travel costs), attorney’s fees, or, in serious cases, contempt sanctions such as fines or jail time.

Utah law also provides an Expedited Parent-time Enforcement Program (now found at Utah Code 81-9-102, formerly 30-3-38) that allows faster hearings for certain parent-time enforcement issues in some courts.

Forms and self-help resources

For people representing themselves, Utah’s state courts offer:

• “Motion to Enforce Order” forms through the Online Court Assistance Program (OCAP), and
• a self-help page on Enforcing a custody or parent-time order that explains the process and possible outcomes.

Talk to a lawyer about your specific situation

This section is general information, not legal advice. If the other parent is not following the schedule, especially in a high-conflict or safety-risk situation, it is wise to speak with an attorney who can review your specific orders and help you decide whether a Motion to Enforce, a modification, or some other remedy is best in your case.