Parents who feel they can no longer make their marriages work often turn to the Ohio family courts. Divorce or litigation is an option, but parents may want to look at a different solution if they want to end a marriage with minimal negative impact on their children.
Dissolution involves an uncontested divorce filing in which the spouses have already agreed on certain property division and parenting standards. Many couples find that dissolution is preferable to traditional divorce. Those with children may find dissolution to be particularly beneficial.
What often makes dissolution a better option for those with children?
Direct control over custody matters
When parents litigate family law disagreements, a judge makes the most important decisions for their family. The parents don’t decide how to divide parenting time and decision-making authority. Judges review information about the family and then make decisions that they believe are in the children’s best interests. Parents who need highly specific terms because of demanding careers or unusual family dynamics may find that dissolution is a better option. During dissolution, parents have far more control over the final outcome of their divorce proceedings than they would if they pursued a standard divorce.
A reduction in family conflict
Litigated divorce is typically an adversarial process in which spouses fight with each other over details related to their children and their property. The conflict during a litigated divorce can be particularly damaging for the children in the family. Higher-conflict divorces are associated with more negative outcomes for the children still living at home. By working cooperatively to negotiate dissolution terms, parents can protect their children from much of the potential conflict that might arise.
Elimination of the need to take a side
During litigated custody cases, older children sometimes need to testify about family matters or even communicate their personal preferences regarding their living arrangements. Those obligations can be incredibly stressful for young adults already going through a difficult family transition. If parents establish their own custody arrangements, children do not have to feel compelled to take a side. They don’t have to publicly speak about the status of their relationships with their parents or indicate who they would prefer to live with if given the option. Eliminating the need to express a preference can take a lot of pressure off of children and teenagers in a very stressful situation.
Parents who can agree on custody and property division terms can pursue an uncontested dissolution instead of a litigated divorce. Understanding how dissolution benefits children could give some parents the incentive they need to work together instead of fighting against each other.The post 3 reasons dissolution can be better for children than divorce first appeared on Baker and Wick, Attorneys at Law.
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