When Co-Parents Clash in a Pandemic

Of course, the coronavirus pandemic has presented some challenges you don’t typically see with other states of emergency. Challenges even the most prescient parenting plan may not have accounted for.

In this article in the New York Times, Jill Waldbieser makes the argument that the pandemic and sudden shutdown of the courts has effectively stranded parents who were divorced or separated without their usual resource: the legal system.

However, the effective lock-down of the courts in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic does not need to deter couples who have been planning to resolve their divorce through divorce mediation. I offer teleconference and on-line video mediation to quickly and effectively start or continue the divorce process and resolve urgent financial and child-related issues resulting from the coronavirus crisis while the courts are closed. Challenging issues such as visitation and parenting time and the impact of layoffs on financial support orders, including child support and alimony, can be resolved swiftly.

For more information or to schedule a free, no-obligation, private, confidential consultation visit FalmouthMediation.com or call 508-566-4159.

Considering a Coronavirus Divorce? You’re in Good Company

In this excellent article in the New York Times, Kim Brooks writes that a lot of families are going to need restructuring by the time the Coronavirus is over. They probably needed it before.

Child Support After Death: Hindsight is 20/20

You can’t help wondering every now and then: what would happen if my ex spouse just died? While that would certainly make your divorce go away, it would also make your ex’s child support payments go away. Because of that, it’s worth paying attention to the ways you can secure child support after death.

While most people assume that their ex will be around to support the kids until they are grown and gone, life doesn’t always work that way.

If something happens, and your ex dies, your kids are going to suffer. Not only will they suffer emotionally, but they also might take a huge financial hit, too.

Your ex will no longer be able to pay child support. S/he will no longer be able to contribute towards the kids’ extracurricular activities or college tuition. S/he will no longer be around to pay part of the kids’ medical bills. What’s more, if your ex was carrying the kids on his/her medical insurance, that will be gone too.

So who will support your kids after your ex dies?

Answer: You. Just you.

How can you make sure that your kids are not left destitute and that your ex somehow provides child support after death?

In this excellent blog posting, Karen Covey offers 6 tips for making sure your kids are provided for if your ex dies.

5 Questions Children of Divorce Wish They Could Ask

The wide array of emotions that a child of divorce may convey during the divorce experience is important to their health and mental wellness. It gives them a chance to say what they want to say about the ordeal and helps them understand the trauma. This level of understanding gives them the chance to move on from it one day and grow because of it.

However, depending on their age, maturity, personality, or a variety of other factors, they may not convey the sentiments or emotions that they are feeling. They may not feel confident in their own voice, or they may have guilt, blaming themselves for the divorce in the first place.

Whatever the reasoning may be, there may be a lot left unsaid that a child of divorce wishes to communicate to their parents. In this excellent blog posting Daniel Pearce offers 5 questions children of divorce wish they could ask:

1. “Who am I without my parents being married?”
2. “What will happen to our family pet?”
3. “Do other families go through this?”
4. “Will Mom/Dad have room for me at their new home?”
5. “How do I fit in Mom/Dad’s new life?”