Boston Family Law Blog

When you have previously gotten to see your children every day, switching over to a child custody schedule with your ex can be difficult after a divorce. It is common, though, as the courts want most children to have a relationship with both parents. That means splitting up the time. There's just no way around it.

How can you make sure that things go well? Here are a few important tips:

• Focus on strong relationships. You don't have as much time with the kids anymore. Make the time that you do have count. Don't just "watch" the children because you have to. Spend your time really connecting with them and building that relationship.
• Honor your obligations. If you have to pay child support, do it. If you need to drop the kids off with your ex at a certain time, don't be late. When you do this, it insulates the children from the stress when their parents don't get along.
• Go to important events in the child's life. These moments mean everything. Make sure you get to graduations, sporting events, and other things of this nature, even if they don't perfectly fit your schedule.
• Always respect your ex in front of the child. Yes, your marriage did not work out, but you are still the child's parents. Strive to get along, work together and provide the child with a good example regardless.

Anyone who is thinking of getting married needs to learn a bit about prenuptial agreements, so they can determine whether they need to enter into one or not. There are several things that you can include in the agreement, but there are also several that can't. It is imperative that you learn these, so you can do what's best.

One important thing to remember when you are creating a prenuptial agreement is that it doesn't have to do only with assets. The agreement is useful if one spouse is coming into the union with considerable debts, such as student loans. The terms of the agreement can note that those loans will only be the responsibility of the original loan holder.

If you are newly divorced, one learning curve to master is how to divvy up time with the kids over the winter holidays. Whether you celebrate Yule, Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa — or some combination thereof — you will want to have the kids with you to celebrate.

The problem is that their other parent likely will, too. So how can this be accomplished? There are several potential ways to manage holiday custody schedules, including the following options.

Few relationships are more significant than that between parent and child. After all, you have an opportunity to instill good moral character in the young one in your life. If you are sharing parental duties with an unscrupulous co-parent, though, you may become the victim of parental alienation. 

Parental alienation occurs when one parent tries to turn a child against the other parent. While it can take many forms, parental alienation often involves mental and emotional manipulation. Eventually, the child prefers one parent over the other. The child may even develop deep-seated hatred or resentment toward the rejected parent.