Watch Out For These Parenting Missteps During The Divorce Run-Up

When a divorce is in your immediate future, it's vital that both you and your spouse use care when dealing with parenting situations. The children of divorce are not just important to you, but the law tends to protect the health and welfare of children above all other issues. Read on and find out some common parenting missteps you will want to avoid.

Making Your Children Into a Divorce Issue

Forging new bonds with your soon-to-be ex is probably the last thing you want to do, but your children deserve the extra effort. Look at it like this – you are forming a new co-parenting relationship with your ex that will serve you well going forward. That means adjusting your behavior in the following ways:

  • Don't argue in front of the children.
  • Don't attempt to use the children as pawns or as a messenger between the two of you.
  • Don't speak badly of the other parent.
  • Keep the lines of communication open.

Failing to Assert Your Financial Needs

If the worries of a divorcing parent were to be examined, most parents spend just as much time worrying about their financial status as they do about their children. In most cases, the two are interconnected and that's what makes these two issues stand out. If you intend to ask for full physical custody of the children, you are very likely entitled to child support. Some divorcing parents are reluctant to request spousal support, but if your income potential is less than your spouses', you are entitled to this valuable form of support. As a side note, there is no need to wait and address these two issues in the final decree, support should begin once you are no longer living with your spouse during separation.

Failing to Create a Parenting Plan

Who knows your children best? If you want to avoid having strangers design a custody and visitation plan for you, do it yourself. Sit down with your spouse and decide on who will have legal and physical custody and a visitation plan that works for both of you. Once you've done so, discuss it with a divorce lawyer to make sure that the plan is both legal and fair. If your plan meets both of those requirements, the judge will agree and will turn your plan into an order. Speak to your divorce lawyer to find out more about dealing with your children in a divorce.

For more help, contact a company like Winstein, Kavensky & Cunningham, LLC.


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