Making the decision to end a marriage is never easy for parents in Pennsylvania. They might feel the desire to stay together for the benefit of the children. Divorce has the potential to inflict negative consequences on children, which include a lower likelihood of attending college and emotional trouble.
Before choosing divorce, couples sometimes attempt to mend their relationships. Counseling along with dedicated efforts to repair a marriage could resolve conflict and allow a family to continue intact.
Sincere efforts, however, do not always produce results. When a couple continues to fight, children typically notice the ongoing tension. Even if children do not comment about their feelings and observations, they understand that their parents are unhappy. Parents in that situation may want to accept that their relationship cannot be fixed. Separation or divorce could allow each parent to regain personal happiness. Divorce might also reduce stress among the children because they are no longer exposed to excessive tension within the household.
Staying together for the sake of children might only rob unhappy parents of the chance to establish new lives. When a person believes that divorce might represent the best choice, a conversation with an attorney could reveal the next steps. An attorney may be able to explain how family law could determine the division of property and child custody. The person could learn about the legal guidelines that determine the calculation of child support. Advice for developing a co-parenting plan from an attorney may also help a person come to terms with the other parent about how to raise the children separately. If difficulties arise during these negotiations, an attorney may be able to buffer the person from hostile confrontations. This effort might shift the person’s focus away from old arguments and enable a decision-making process that benefits the children.
