Springfield Divorce & Family Law Blog

If you have gotten a divorce in Missouri or otherwise are no longer together with your child's other parent, you may run into times when that parent does not want to be involved in your child's life. This might include not wanting to have visitation, not engaging with the child on any level or foregoing responsibilities and leaving parenting completely up to you. This is a difficult situation for you and your child. How you handle it has a huge impact and could define the parent-child relationship between you and your child and the other parent and your child. However, there are some things you can try to do to remedy the situation and make it easier.

The main thing to do, according to Very Well Family, is to communicate about visitation issues. This means talking to the other parent. Find out why he or she is not involved. Be open and try to not be combative. If you are accusing and negative, the other parent may not want to talk to you. You need to get information so you can see if you can fix whatever is wrong. For example, sometimes a parent may have scheduling issues. Perhaps the other parent has had a change in hours at work and just cannot get your child at the designated times.

While divorce can be a complicated process for many people, it can be exponentially more difficult and time consuming if you and your spouse have been married for a long time. Often, the longer your marriage lasts, the more there is to untangle in terms of finances, shared assets and belongings that may hold sentimental value to both of you. At Stange Law Firm, PC, we have helped many divorcing couples in Missouri to work through the legal process of divorce as quickly as possible. 

If you and your spouse have been married for a significant length of time, you will undoubtedly face a much different and more extensive list of issues to work through than a couple that has only been married for five years or less. According to U.S. News, if your marriage has been long, some of the factors that will require time, resources and negotiation to work through include the following:

• Alimony
• Child custody
• Dating
• Retirement accounts
• Shared assets
• Shared real estate

For Springfield-area couples who are struggling with their marriage but not ready to throw in the towel, a legal separation may be the right decision. Along with giving each spouse time and space to think about all the ramifications of divorce, a separation has financial benefits too.

A legal separation is different than what some may consider a "trial" separation, which may be just having one partner move to a different home for a few months, according to Forbes. A legal separation is a binding agreement that covers spousal and child support, visitation and division of debt and assets. Not having an agreement in place means you are still liable for any legal issues or debts that your partner has.

Given the emotions that can go into divorce proceedings in Springfield, it may be easy for many to see how and why they can become so contentious. Particular matters (such as child custody) can become particularly nasty due to what is at stake. Yet even with the potential for discord that exist amongst a divorcing couple, the parties involved may be advised to put aside their differences and come to an amicable agreement for the best interests of the children at the center of such disputes. 

The judge presiding over the divorce case of Donald Trump Jr. and his estranged wife praised the couple in recent proceedings for being able to accomplish such a task. The couple filed for divorce earlier this year after almost 13 years of marriage. News recently surfaced that they were able to come up with their own agreement regarding the custody of their five children. Their join efforts allowed the couple to complete their initial custody hearing to be completed in just 10 minutes. The pair also appeared to be amiable towards each other during proceedings. The judge commended them for their behavior and even offered assistance in helping them to resolve any future matters. Such cooperation is also expected as the two sort through their financial affairs.