Parents tend to face the most difficult decisions during a divorce, such as how to approach children about the change and how to maintain the family’s standard of living. Florida parents may make the mistake of listening to common myths or taking protective attitudes too far.
The end of a marriage is likely to begin with two households surviving on the resources that were only sufficient for the one, which can lead to some serious mistakes. Parents may try to cut corners by hiring only one lawyer or attempting to figure out child support payments on their own. The fact is that an attorney can only represent one party in a divorce, and child support guidelines tend to be followed by a lengthy list of rules and exceptions.
Another common mistake concerns the information children are provided with during a divorce. Entirely insulating all but the youngest children is an impossibility. Attempts to minimize a child’s exposure to the parents’ negative emotions are a good step, but withholding information that affects them is most likely to backfire and cause them more anxiety about the future.
As with a car, marriages involve many moving parts that most people don’t take the time to think about until there is a problem. At the end of a marriage, all the parts must be examined, from retirement funding to the cost of summer camp to the emotional support of children. Since this examination tends to happen at a time of heightened emotions and antagonism, both parties may benefit by having access to an experienced attorney who is capable of negotiating property division, pleading a child custody dispute and preventing costly errors.
