High-Conflict Divorce and Children

Divorce is categorized into three different types. These three types include:

1. Business-like divorce: The people involved know that they both are not in love anymore, and if they have children, they handle things very respectfully and provide the best parenting they  can as separated parents.
2. Friendly divorce: The people involved can see that they would have been better friends than a couple, so separating is mutual and agreeable. Often times, these people can still be friends after a divorce.
3. High-conflict divorce: This type of divorce is when the two people involved can’t agree or figure out their differences in either a business or friendly way.

Many people think that because of stress and conflict, their divorce must be high-conflict. This isn’t actually the case. It is estimated to be that about 10% of divorces fit the criteria for being placed in this category of high conflict. Both the parents involved and more importantly the children greatly suffer when having to go through such a difficult divorce situation.

What do people in a high-conflict divorce fight about?

Listed here are just a few common topics that disputes arise from.

• Money: When a couple goes through a divorce, financial issues are inevitably going to arise. The two people go from having to pay one set of bills to two. Child support issues and figuring out who gets what often times leads to the most issues.
• Feelings that are unresolved: While divorce legally separates a couple, it does not just dissolve any unresolved feelings accompanying the marriage. People need to remember to actually deal with the feelings that go along with divorce.
• Dating Someone New: Even if two people have already been through a divorce and have been getting along fine, tensions can rise when one party introduces the fact that they are dating someone new. Often times it arises from the feeling of uncomfortableness with a new adult interacting with the children, and sometimes it is just due to jealousy. When a parent thinks their role is being threatened, high-conflict arises.

Try to reduce the conflict

The reality of high-conflict divorce is simple: it very greatly impacts children. The effects of constant conflict between parents is much more detrimental than one may realize when it is occurring. Proactively taking steps to avoid the conflict can help avoid the negative impact this difficult situation has on children.

Conflict is sometimes inevitable: Contact an experienced Fort Wayne family law firm

At The Bellinger Law Office, we deal with a wide range of family law issues. Contact our office for quality representation in any divorce or family law case. Contact us today at 260-428-2214.