Divorce Help - Legal/Emotional Issues

In a contested divorce, help with legal issues is essential. Courts issue temporary orders determining spousal support, child custody, child support, and possessory rights for real estate and personal property. Expect a hearing to be scheduled quickly, with final determination of these issues to be determined by agreed settlement or trial. Because complex legal issues are inherent in divorce, help from a qualified attorney prevents errors and reveals a wide range of options. Following temporary orders, attorneys simultaneously explore settlement and prepare for trial.

Mediation forces all parties to focus on contested legal issues. The scenario is familiar - one spouse wants the marriage terminated while the other spouse resists. Perhaps out of fear of loss or failure, the resisting spouse becomes unresponsive. The mediation process brings all parties together in a professional setting. Emotional outbursts and unresponsiveness are minimized, and with the assistance of legal counsel, mediation usually discovers areas of agreement and isolates potential trial issues.

Emotional divorce help through counseling

Life continues despite the additional legal and emotional stress created by the process of dissolving a marriage. You (or your children) may benefit from professional counseling during a difficult period of personal transition. Counseling is unique, because advice is personally supportive without offering false hope or undeserved criticism. In a very real sense, counselors lower the volume on the noise and confusion in life, and offer intelligent, rational ways to solve problems.

In an ideal world, children would understand divorce and express their feelings clearly - but they don't. Child psychologists recognize the early warning signs of problems in behavioral development. Following a divorce, help through counseling for children may reduce, at a minimum, acting out, poor grades, resentment toward one or both parents.

See Also: Divorce Help Online, Support Groups, Documents, Divorce Help - Attorneys