Family Law Articles

Child custody cases are contentious affairs almost by default; it’s simply the nature of the beast. However, an already difficult custody case can quickly become a very difficult situation when the specter of alcohol abuse rears its head.

Addiction is a disease. Our society is coming to grips with this truth more and more each day. However, emerging cultural developments often take time to work their way into our judicial system; courts are, by design, built to resist rapid change — including family courts, where custody decisions involving the children of addicts are routine.

Child custody decisions are among the most notoriously difficult rulings any judge will ever make. When the safety and well-being of a child are at stake, our legal system should take great pains to ensure the best possible outcome is obtained for the child.

Married couples often find other couple friends to help brighten up weekends and attend events together. But after a divorce, it can be tough to let them go. After all, you’ve spent months or years getting to know them, sharing important life stories, meals, and children’s events. It took effort to grow so close. And now . . . what?

No matter how much you love being a parent, there can be days when you’re overwhelmed by the demands of life, such as your job, and your family, but you feel the need to keep going rather than admit you might need to talk to someone about your anxiety. Or perhaps you’re a new parent and you’re worried that you don’t quite have the hang of this “parenting” thing and are embarrassed to ask for help.

Sometimes, saying no to your kids is the right answer, but for some parents, saying no can be hard. “No” is often met with tantrums, which leads many parents to dodge the answer in the first place. However, children need to hear the word “no” as it helps them better understand decision making.

The pain involved in most divorces approaches and even equals that involved in unexpected death of a loved one.Still, during this process, you’ll hear repeatedly that, for the sake of the children, you must build a workable relationship with your ex-spouse or partner.

These days, the Internet is a fact of life. So much of our day-to-day is wrapped up in the online world, which makes it no wonder that digital citizens are becoming younger and younger. If you’re a parent, you may have already been subjected to pleas for a smartphone, or you might have spotted your child navigating their social media profiles on the family computer.

The short-term damage wrought by addiction is obvious and easy to see. In families, though, children may also suffer long-term effects from their parent’s addiction, even if the parent doesn’t exhibit classic abuse or neglect. Children of addicts have an increased likelihood to fall into addiction themselves; they also display increased rates of emotional problems, risk-seeking behavior, and disciplinary issues at school.

For a parent, it can be one of the toughest conversations you’ll ever have with your kids: telling them that you and their other parent are getting a divorce. This announcement can immediately set off a number of anxious feelings and questions from your child; they may be worried that they won’t ever see their other parent again, or that it was somehow their fault.