Having a child can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. But it can also place a huge strain on your marriage and lead to decreased feelings of satisfaction in your relationship. For some couples, these feelings can even arise months before the child arrives.
Regardless of the timing of these feelings, severe dissatisfaction in your relationship during pregnancy can lead to one of life’s most challenging experiences: divorce. That, then, begs the question: How does one effectively deal with such a set of circumstances?
Below are some tips to help you get through such a tumultuous process:
Tips for Parents
Whether you are the mom or the dad, you will undoubtedly feel a whirlwind of emotions, ranging from shock, disbelief, and sadness to perhaps even fear. You may feel generally overwhelmed.
As for the divorce itself, there are a few things that you’ll need to address as soon as possible:
Your Living Situation
If you and your spouse share a home, it’s important to consider what will happen to that residence after the divorce. If you can’t (or don’t want to) keep the home, you’ll each need to find a stable living arrangement as quickly as possible.
Child Custody
Even if your separation appears amicable, you should still seek the services of a child custody attorney. Court-ordered child custody arrangements are enforceable and will offer protection for both a mother’s and a father’s rights.
Child Support
Depending on the income of both you and your spouse, you may be entitled to child support or you may be paying child support. The City of New York’s website has a free child support calculator that can help you estimate how much you will receive but remember the Courts can look at a variety of factors that will increase the support beyond the statutory cap.
Division of Assets
Deciding how to divide assets represents one of the biggest sources of conflict during a divorce. Your assets include money in your savings account, investment accounts, retirement accounts deferred compensation, restricted stock units, vehicles, your home, and any other resources you and your spouse share.
Tips
As an expectant parent, whether you are mom or dad, it’s vital that you take steps to protect your custodial rights as well. It’s important to be involved in your child’s life from the day of their birth so that you can form a strong bond.
Some factors you should consider include the following:
Time Sharing
Strive to reach an amicable agreement with your co-parent regarding time-sharing. Perhaps you will share joint custody of your newborn, or a different arrangement may be more suitable. If the two of you cannot agree, enlist the services of a New York child custody attorney right away.
Moving On and Preparing for the Arrival of Your Child
A contested divorce can take over a year to finalize. Therefore, if you have a little one on the way, it’s important to settle your divorce as quickly and respectfully as possible. After all, you want to provide your child with as much stability as possible.
With that in mind, it’s important to enlist the services of an experienced New York divorce attorney. Hiring a skilled lawyer can help you navigate this process and set the stage for your fresh start.