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Couples who decide to divorce face a difficult decision, particularly when children are involved. Many parents worry about their child’s well being throughout the divorce process, however, many cases suggest that parents themselves are the ones who have the most impact on their child’s ability to bounce back after the marriage has ended. While one may be hard pressed to find someone who would not do anything they could for their child, divorce proceedings may appear to be an exception to that rule. Some parents may let their contempt for the other parent cloud their judgement and use children as a weapon, whether it is intentional or not.
Causing Damage
A recent article suggests that children of divorce can suffer far-reaching and life-changing damage when not treated properly. Children are often victims of divorce, and they are sometimes used by parents as weapons to hurt one another in the breakdown of the marriage. This tactic not only deviates from doing what is in a child’s best interest, but truly hurts the child’s well-being in a very real way. Parents often think that divorce is an adult process, but children’s lives are just as impacted, if not more.
According to a recently published article, many divorcing couples, including those of the celebrity variety, are shifting the focus of their custody battles from child custody to pet custody.
More Common Occurrence
While people generally may expect some type of custody battle to ensue between a divorcing couple regarding their children, they are probably less likely to anticipate the same type of disputes over family pets. However, in the legal world, disputes over the custody of pets are becoming more common in connection with divorce proceedings. Perhaps this is not so surprising when one considers that people in America are spending more money than ever before on their pets, many couples who would otherwise be having children are delaying parenthood, and more and more people are forming a bond with their pets that causes them to treat the pets more like members of the family. The law is just now trying to catch up to this cultural status change for families’ furry friends.
Many parents who decide to divorce are primarily concerned with how the breakdown of the family will affect their children. The time after a divorce is finalized will certainly be a period of adjustment, but adjusting is not always as traumatic for children as some divorced parents may fear. In fact, some kids adjust surprisingly well to their parents’ divorce, particularly those whose parents provide them with love and attention and focus on their well being throughout the divorce while keeping them shielded from conflict and anxiety.
Look for Signs
A recent article suggests the following signs show that children are coping well with their parents’ divorce:
They are acting like their usual selves. Kids who interact with their parents and go through their days as usual are exhibiting good signs that they are handling divorce well. Any noticeable changes in looks or behavior should be addressed early.
It is no secret that the divorce rate in the U.S. is high; almost half of all marriages will eventually end in divorce. Many couples make the mutual decision to divorce, while others try to save their marriage no matter the cost. However, if at least one person in the couple is thinking about divorce, it may indicate something is wrong with the relationship.
Six Signals Indicating Imminent Divorce
According to a recently published article, there are signals that are usually present to indicate a divorce may be imminent. Although there are likely many more, here are six of the the most common signs that a divorce may be in a couple’s future:
For many, it may be hard to believe that any parent would not do all they can for the well-being of their child. However, the fact remains that in many child support cases, particularly contentious matters that involved a bitter divorce or a relationship gone sour, a parent who owes child support may pull whatever strings possible to get out of the obligation.
This may be because of the payor parent’s feelings of ill will toward the custodial parent, but no matter the reason, the one who is hurt most in cases like this is the child or children involved. Luckily, with the help of an experienced attorney in child support matters, these situations can be avoided when possible and addressed when they occur.
Income Withholding
Often in child support proceedings, a judge may issue a formal child support order and also include an income withholding order, which orders the paying parent to turn over a portion of their income in order to meet their child support obligations. A parent may also submit an income withholding for support form through the Office of Child Support Enforcement. Usually, the paying parent is also the non-custodial parent. This order acts to notify the paying parent’s employer to deduct the amount of the child support payment from their income each pay period and to forward the payment to the appropriate state agency, who will then transfer the funds to the custodial parent to use for the child.
A recently published article discussed the problem that some parents face in child custody disputes and the changes that some are calling for in order to level the playing field. Many parents who are involved in divorce cases where children are involved face the possibility of a diminished parent-child relationship. The parent who is not the custodial parent often becomes just a visitor in the eyes of the family. Because of this perceived inequity, many parents who lose out on significant time with their children are trying to make changes to the legal process.
Shared Parenting
Advocates of equal parenting time are trying to get legislation passed that would divide custodial time more fairly between both parents. Their position is that children are better served when they spend equal time with both of their parents. These parents are against laws that would award custody to one parent over another, except in cases where one of the parents is deemed by the court to be unfit. Their proposed legislation would include a clause that mandates both parents get a minimum percentage of parenting time with their children each week.
Parents who divorce often worry about their children’s well being throughout the process and after the family is split up. It is undoubtedly a challenging time for children and their parents. A new article suggests that one of the things parents should add to their list of concerns when they divorce is whether their child will struggle with excessive weight gain.
Children’s Weight Gain after Divorce
New research is suggesting that children of divorced parents often struggle with weight gain when their parents part ways. A study was done of 3,000 kids in Norway in the third grade, which found that boys were especially prone to weight gain in connection with their parents’ divorce. the study found that boys of divorced parents had a 63 percent higher chance of being classified as either obese or overweight than boys whose parents were married. The same group was found to have a 104 percent higher chance of being abdominally obese.
Whether you and your spouse have discussed the possibility of divorce, you know your marriage is in disarray, or you have simply made the decision to end your marriage on your own, there are certain steps you should take prior to filing for divorce. Heeding this advice may not only serve to protect your interests down the road, but may also make the divorce process much smoother and easier to endure. Read on for some important first steps to take before heading to the courthouse.
Things to Do Before You Divorce
The time a couple spends engaged before their wedding ceremony is a special period of their relationship. Many discussions center around wedding planning, their love for one another, and their future plans. One conversation topic though that may be less popular is the sobering reality of finances. Even though a discussion about financial matters may not be as appealing as others during an engagement, it is an important one to have. A recent article gave engaged persons some advice on what questions to ask their future spouse when it comes to money matters.
10 Questions to Ask while Engaged
What is your credit score? This is an important piece of financial information since both of your credit scores may affect your ability to start a family, purchase a home, or buy a car. It is best to know what to expect going into your marriage and not after you have applied for a loan.
An article recently published by The Windy City Times discussed same-sex couples being legally allowed to marry across the state of Illinois. Beginning on June 1st, the state’s Religious Freedom and Marriage Equality Act took effect across the state, giving same-sex couples the right to marry and enjoy all of the same rights and privileges as married heterosexual couples. A number of counties had allowed same-sex couples to procure marriage licenses for the past several months in advance of the law taking effect, in light of a federal ruling in February that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Other counties decided to wait until the law went into effect this month to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
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