MAKING THE DECISION TO DIVORCE WITH CHILDREN

On behalf of Askvig & Johnson, PLLP 

Numerous individuals in Minnesota are married. However, most residents of the state are aware that sometimes marriages just don't work out, and some couples decide that divorce is their best option. There are many questions that a couple has to ask and many decisions that they need to make when they decide to move forward with a marital dissolution. When the couple has children, there are even more questions, and the decisions become even harder to make.

The key to making a divorce as easy on the children as possible, whether it is a contested divorce or an uncontested divorce, is that the parents be civil to one another when the children are around. This will decrease the anxiety of an already stressful situation for the children. It is important to remember that no matter what issues exist between the parents the children should not be involved. A parent that says something bad about the other parent to a child will hurt the child.

In addition, when a couple has children but they are not getting along and think that a divorce may be in their future, there are two questions that they commonly will ask. The first is whether they should remain married for the sake of the children. If they decide that is not feasible, then they will often ask themselves what age is the easiest for children to go through a divorce.

Couples will often decide to stay together indefinitely for the sake of the children or to stay together until the children are older because they believe a divorce will then be easier to handle. However, what those parents don't understand is that the teenage years are very tough for children anyway and the older the child is the more adjustments they will have to make. Younger children adapt to a new routine much more quickly.

Divorce can be difficult and sometimes the heightened emotions paired with figuring out the correct procedures that must be followed to finalize a divorce can be stressful. Thankfully, there are family law attorneys in Minnesota that are familiar with all of the procedures and state laws, and they can help couples work through these hard times as quickly as possible without the added complexity of having to learn the laws.

Source: Examiner.com, "Divorce does not have to be devastating for children if parents can get along," Dawn Michael, Jan. 3, 2014