3e89d2231548a7e09b67c33d1582ce86One of the toughest things during a divorce is determining visitation, support and decision-making rights over a child’s life. I see, too often, over eager parents determined to punish their former spouse by depriving them of the right to see their children or that the spouse should pay 100% for all costs in regards to their children. It is truly painful to see my clients experience that.  Also, there is always the issue of how much support a former spouse is entitled too especially when the duties are not equal. These are not easy issues to define, but more often than not, it is moments like this, it is best to mediate between the parties rather than act as a weapon to gouge the other side.
Luckily, the courts provide plenty of guidance on this, yet parties still remain either wilfully ignorant of these guidelines or just focused on the emotional aspects of the dissolution. I often recommend clients to look at it from the other side no matter how difficult because at the end of the day, unless there is abuse involved, there is no reason to punish parents through their children. While there are reams on legal guides on this issues, often, it comes down to just allowing yourself to get a representative who can help you be a bit more objective.