If there is anything most people can universally agree on, it’s that divorce can be messy — particular when children are involved. During divorce, heightened emotions, disputed finances and other disagreements only add to a frequently difficult process. The one beautiful constant in all of the chaos is the love you have for your children. With that in mind, it’s important to take care of a child’s physical and emotional needs during this tumultuous time. Here are 10 things not to tell your children during a divorce.

If you are thinking about divorce, you might be concerned about facing a long drawn out litigation process. Everyone has heard nightmare stories of couples that start out with the desire to part amicably but wind up in a hostile and emotional courtroom battle over property, child support and custody issues.

With the costs of college on the rise these days, it’s more important than ever to build a college fund for your children years before they step on a college campus. If you’re a single parent, start preparing now by saving money for your child’s college fund. Listed here are some tips and resources, but the best resource of them all is your attorney. Be sure to talk with your attorney when you’re trying to decide on an investment for your child’s college fund.

How does a father get child custody? It is certainly is not easy. Despite changes in society, there is still a prevailing undertone that a mother has the edge in receiving custody. One of the most important things you can do to get prepared for custody litigation is start keeping a diary. Record every reason you are a better parent. Record in your diary every instance that you think shows poorly upon her or positively upon you. It is very sad that it comes to this, but a father must be aggressive when heading towards litigation.

When should an emergency motion be filed? There is an old saying that a Judge will not grant an emergency motion unless there is “blood or broken bones”. This is obviously not a real standard in the law, but it is instructive on how hard it is to get a Judge to grant an emergency motion to change custody or force some type of pickup order.

Gay marriage is now legal in the state of Florida and the sad truth is that it will also mean divorces with gay couples. Every law that pertains to a divorce of a “traditional” couple will now pertain to a gay couple. This will also include post dissolution matters, such as modification of alimony, child support, etc.  This also means that Florida will recognize gay marriages of other states so that when a gay couple wants to get a divorce in Florida, having been married in another state, Florida now has jurisdiction to take care of this. 

Many people do not understand how to separate property during a marriage. People think because their name is the only name on something that should not be part of the equitable distribution plan in a divorce. The state of Florida sees a married couple as 1 person. Therefore, if you have acquired something during the marriage that is only in your name, it is still subject to equitable distribution. In other words, it is half hers.