Making the decision to get a divorce is hard, and it’s even more challenging when there are children involved. Nobody anticipates divorce when they get married and have kids, but unfortunately, things happen that may lead down that road. In this blog, we will be going over 6 things to consider before divorcing with children. If you share children with your spouse, then you must be absolutely certain that you want a divorce. The presence of children adds a number of complicating factors that might cause you to reconsider if you were aware of them beforehand.
- If you pursue a new relationship after the divorce, your former spouse can restrict your new partner’s contact with the children. This is especially true if the two of you are unmarried, family courts have historically been open to arguments that exposure to an unmarried, cohabiting couple is “immorality” which children must be protected from. If you are the non-custodial parent, this can greatly complicate your personal life and relationships.
- Even if there are no other harmful factors, any divorce can be traumatizing to your children. It is common for children who experience their parent’s divorce to develop behavioral and psychological problems as a result. As a parent, it is up to you to take your child’s interest into account before making such a life-altering decision. Please consider whether or not you might be willing to wait until after your children are living on their own before getting a divorce.
- Divorce with minor children runs the risk of interfering with the relationships between that minor and their grandparents and extended family. Custodial parents reserve the right to restrict the contact between such relatives and the children in their custody. It is not unheard of for grandparents and uncles to become proxies in disputes between former spouses. Once your children become adults, those relationships will become self-sustaining. Furthermore, living in one household creates more opportunities to interact with extended families, especially during the holidays.
- Divorcing with children is expensive. You will lose all of the savings you would enjoy from sharing expenses with your spouse, not to mention the loss of tax and other benefits. In addition to this loss, you might end up paying child support. In theory, child support is meant to be equivalent to the support your child would have received if you had stayed married. In practice, if you are the non – custodial parent, then your “in-person” support as a parent is being replaced by money payments. You will likely end up paying more for your child than you did while married.
- A divorce with children will take at least three times as long as a childless divorce. This is required by Michigan law in order to ensure the well-being of the children. The whole divorce process is never pleasant, but waiting until the children move out can make it go a lot faster. This lengthening of the process makes the whole divorce process more expensive. You will end up paying way more in court and attorney’s fees if the divorce involves child custody and support. Furthermore, the involvement of children means that the court will continue to be involved even after finalizing the divorce.
- There are often alternatives to divorce. There may also be some means by which you can temporarily or permanently mend the relationship between you and your spouse. When there are no children involved, these alternatives may not seem worthwhile. But all of the inconveniences of a divorced life when there are children shared by the former spouses can make these alternatives more attractive. It would be wise to consider these options before subjecting you and your family to split holidays, disrupted lives, emotional trauma, and the financial burden that would accompany a divorce.
Conclusion
Divorces are never easy, this is why you need to speak to an attorney before you do anything else. With the right attorney from Goldman and Associates, you can get the best advice possible and maybe even avoid a majority of the trouble that comes with divorces. If there are children in the relationship then it can be even more difficult to go through with a divorce. Goldman and Associates Law Firm has the best attorneys to help with your case. You will get the outcome you desire with Goldman and Associates, give us a call today.
For more information on divorces in the State of Michigan watch the videos below and check out the Goldman and Associates YouTube channel for more videos on everything relating to law in Michigan. Make sure to give our attorneys a call if you have any questions about divorce in Michigan.
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