While your Bergen County divorce may have ended your financial and legal relationship with your former partner, if you have children together, you will be entering into a new kind of relationship, that of co-parents! For some couples, this new type of relationship may come naturally, but for others, it can be difficult to learn to work together in this new way.
With those potential difficulties in mind, here are some tips for creating a successful and healthy co-parenting relationship with your former spouse.
“Define the Roles and Responsibilities of Each Parent”
Ridgewood, NJ Divorce Attorneys
One of the most important steps you and your co-parent can take towards creating a successful co-parenting relationship is to clearly define each co-parents roles and responsibilities, and define exactly how and when you will work together when resolving any issues that may come up in your children’s lives.
Be sure to determine which parent will handle which types of decisions or circumstances regarding your children, how they will communicate those same issues and decisions to the other parent, and what expectations each parent has of the other.
“Respect your Co-Parent’s Parental Rights”
Paramus, NJ Child Custody Lawyers
Following any Bergen County divorce or legal relationship dissolution, each parent will have the right to make certain decisions and rules for their children, depending on the type of legal child custody each parent has. If you disagree with any of the decisions your co-parent is making, it is critical to the mental health of your children that you keep those disagreements private, solely between the two parents without involving the children.
If your children feel conflicted over which parent’s rules or advice to follow, or are put in the middle of an argument between their parents, this can cause many conflicting emotions for your children, emotions which have a high potential to negatively impact their emotional growth and stability.
“Compromise is Key”
Teaneck, NJ Divorce Lawyers
Even though you and your former spouse may have not been able to reach compromises during your marriage regarding certain issues, now that your legal relationship with them is over, it is extremely important, and often much easier, to reach the compromises necessary to any successful co-parenting relationship.
Try to keep an open mind, and remember that your ultimate goal is to raise your children, and not to “get revenge” or gain some kind of moral victory over your former spouse.
“Reach Out to Friends and Family”
Hackensack, NJ Family Law Firm
Part of your ability to compromise may come from discussing your issues or concerns with a reliable support network. Many times the insights and honest counsel of a close friend or family member can open your eyes to new possibilities, or new ways of seeing the situation. This can be extremely helpful when it comes to helping you see whatever issue may arise from your former spouse’s point of view, something which can greatly aid your ability to reach practical compromises with them.
“Resolve Outstanding Legal Issues”
Bergen County, NJ Post-Divorce Attorneys
Finally, if there are any outstanding legal issues between you and your co-parent, it is critical that you resolve them as quickly as possible in order to move forward, and begin your co-parenting relationship without the added burden many post-divorce issues can place on your co-parenting relationship.
Things like a family law appeal, or a post-divorce modification can cause a great deal of strain on your co-parenting relationship, so if you still have any pending legal actions after your divorce, reach out to our Bergen County post-divorce attorneys quickly so that we can help you to resolve whatever issue you may be facing, and help you start your co-parenting relationship with a clean slate.
Contact Our Bergen County Family Law Firm Today
At The Law Office of Townsend, Tomaio & Newmark, our attorneys have extensive experience handling family law matters of all kinds, including divorce and its related issues of child custody, child support, alimony, and division of assets for clients across Hackensack, Ridgewood, Paramus, Teaneck, Fort Lee, and the greater Bergen County area.
By practicing exclusively divorce and family law, our firm can focus on providing each of our clients with the knowledgeable, effective, and attentive legal service that they need and deserve in matters so important to their legal, financial, and parental futures, and the future of their family as a whole.
To speak with our family law team today in a free and confidential consultation regarding your divorce, a post-divorce modification, or any kind of family law appeal, please contact us online, or through our Hackensack, NJ office at (201) 397-1750.
