Winston-Salem Family Law Blog

Even if you and your co-parent have worked to avoid spending any more time than necessary together since your divorce, a child's graduation is one of those occasions where you'll likely have to be together. You may also have to deal with ex in-laws you may not have seen for a long time or your ex's new significant other.

Of course, high school and college graduations are a big deal. However, these days, middle schoolers all the way down to pre-kindergartners have graduation ceremonies. The point is, you may be dealing with this a lot sooner than you anticipated.

One of the most biggest changes that divorced couples face in their co-parenting relationship is when one of them gets a new significant other who becomes part of the kids' lives. Despite whatever conflicted feelings this may bring up for you, it's important to encourage your kids to accept and get along with this new person. After all, you'd want your ex to do the same for you. The more adults your kids have in their lives who care about them, the better off they'll be.

If you're fortunate, your relationship with your ex is good enough that he or she tells you about this person. However, you may hear about the new significant other from your kids. Either way, you have every right to meet anyone who's going to be part of your kids' lives. If your ex doesn't want to arrange it, you should find a way to make it happen.

Sometimes the relationship between separated or divorced parents is so conflict-ridden that they're unable to co-parent their children healthily. Some states, including North Carolina, have laws that address the role of parenting coordinators (PC) in these high-conflict cases.

A high-conflict situation isn't just one where parents don't like each other or occasionally disagree on parenting issues. For a PC to be ordered, a judge must believe that a child's well-being is at risk, short-term and possibly long-term, because of a couple's inability to work together as parents.

As a grandparent, you likely look forward to any time you get to spend with your grandchildren. Those kids may bring a great joy to your life and allow you to spread your love in a way that makes you feel needed and important. Of course, being a grandparent can also have its difficult points, especially when your child ends his or her marriage or may not have the ability to properly care for your grandchildren.

When your child goes through divorce, you likely understand that he or she will have many difficult decisions to make, and when it comes to child custody, you may have concerns of your own. You may wonder if you will see your grandchildren less often or if you will have the ability to see them at all. On the other hand, a divorce may prove so difficult on your child that your grandchildren end up staying with you for a majority of the time.