Under Florida state laws, when a couple files for divorce, it is mandatory for them to go through the mediation process if it is a contested divorce. This mandatory rule is not an attempt to try and preserve the family unit, but to facilitate the smooth sharing of custody of any children and the marital assets, especially when children are involved. The mediation process is meant to help the divorcing couples deal with the necessary processes to split their assets and child care, child support, and other expenses without resorting to acrimonious exchanges and attacks on each other.

Most men, after they have been through the wringer of divorce, begin to lose direction as dads. In most cases, the emotional upheaval of losing the physical custody of their children to their ex-wives results in their inability to cope with the same. They often begin to enter into despair with the thought of remaining emotionally close and relevant in their children’s lives. This leaves them trying to do too much or not enough to remain in contact with their children and the children often end up just confused and hurt.

When you are in the middle of divorce, leaving your children behind and moving out can be one of the most heart-wrenching things you can experience as a dad. If a couple is able to work out a parenting plan in consultation with each other and according to their individual work schedules, it is beneficial to the children. The children will also be reassured that while the parents are getting divorced, their relationship with both the parents will remain unchanged, except physically. This kind of security is very crucial for the emotional health of children in general and young children in particular.

Divorce means upheaval.  If you are the father who had to move out, in order to let your children continue to live in their home, then you need to find a new place to live, closer to your previous home which will help you play an active role in your kids’ lives. Once you find a place, you then have to ensure that it is kid-friendly so that your children can be safe when they come over for weekend visits and holidays.

Almost always, as divorced Dads, men are required to pay child support for their children along with alimony for their ex-wives. In some cases, even after the man has been proved as not being the biological father, courts contend that as he was the father during the marriage, he should continue to foot the bill. In recent years, after many such cases coming to light in the wake of DNA evidence, there has been uproar from men asking to be exempted from child support if the child is not theirs.