Parents want to do what’s best for their kids and often make sacrifices in doing so. But when parents — of older children in particular — are in an unhappy marriage and decide to put off divorce for the sake of their children, they need to weigh the pros and cons of both staying together or going their separate ways. What New Jersey parents should really be asking is how their marriage is affecting their children.
Parents also have to think about how their decision will affect their children in the long run since staying together in an unhappy situation could be detrimental to their children — in many cases more so than divorcing. If parents have concealed their troubled relationship from their children for years, divorce could come as a real shock for kids and other family members. Children are perceptive, but some parents do a good job of hiding marital issues.
Clearly, each family dynamic is different and parents have to make the decision to divorce or to wait based on what’s going on in their own families. Some parents want their kids to grow up in a household with two parents, no matter what. But those thoughts have shifted over the last couple decades and many parents who divorce still consider themselves as part of a family unit with their former spouses and their children.
A New Jersey attorney can provide information to a client who is considering whether or not to divorce. Having all the legal information regarding the divorce process may help an individual to make up his or her mind to pursue divorce or to remain in a marriage. A lawyer can’t make that decision for a client, but can help in providing advice and guidance before the decision is made and afterwards — if the client decides divorce is imminent.