Avoiding dating entanglements during a Child Custody case

When the subject of dating during a custody or divorce case I strongly recommend that clients do what I called invisible dating. That is, go on dates, meet possible partners - but on days when you don't have the children or during the hours where you don't have parenting time. "Invisible dating" means not introducing new romantic partners to your children, for a long time. The idea is to keep your own household stable and quiet, to prevent the emotional whipsawing that goes on when children have to adapt to new adults around them, and the conflicting loyalties that result from that, and also to avoid providing ammunition for the other side to wage further psychological war on my client.

Sometimes, clients will get drawn into introducing a new partner to the children because that new partner also has his or her own children, and the thought is that the two sets of children should meet each other! What a disaster waiting to happen.

I don't mean to be entirely negative about new relationships, they are a natural part of life. But, if you'd like to hear more ideas about keeping your case running smoothly and avoiding costly, time-consuming and unnecessary Court litigation please give me a call anytime on my cell at 312-493-4241.

Kevin R. Johnson
www.divorce.NU

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