Divorce is an emotional and challenging time for a family. In the United States, the divorce rate is estimated to be around 50 percent. Which means that many families are dealing with divorce – with and without children.
Post divorce with children means custody arrangements and child support. The right lawyer can help you determine the best possible situation for your children. But on top of the legal situations, dual parenting comes into play. Below are four pieces of advice to help make the transition as smooth as possible.
- Agree in advance on how to handle situations such as birthdays, holidays, events and visitation. Determining a structure in advance will allow a more peaceful and secure environment for your children. Knowing the schedule in advance increases stability and allows you to plan everyday occasions and special events.
- Children will often test the boundaries with parents. Discuss and agree to guidelines to raising your children in advance. It is important to have an agreement and open communication in order to communicate the same messaging and similar values.
- Continue to share important information about your changing life circumstances with each other when possible, so that the children don’t become the unintended messenger between the parents. Open communication can prevent a higher level of stress for your children, which comes with keeping secrets or sharing bad news.
- Lastly, make a pact to not discuss each other negatively with the kids and to stop the children from speaking disrespectfully about the other parent as well. Respect towards both parents is important when it comes to parenting.
Working together on the above might be challenging at first, but will set both parents and the kids up for better success. Less stress, less question marks, and more collaboration will help the kids to feel safer and will lead to a more seamless post divorce life.
For help in your divorce or custody hearing, call the family law attorneys at Lynn Law Firm in Lawrenceville, Georgia, for a consultation at 770-212-9090.