You may or may not be having a legal dispute about your divorce or about who the children will live with. Either way, be careful when you talk about the legal parts of your divorce in front of your children.

Your family is your child’s whole world. Your kids might be scared when they hear you talk about things like

• custody,
• parenting time,
• separation agreements,
• mediation,
• divorce,
• child support, and
• going to court.

If your children are young, they may not understand much about these legal terms or why the court needs to be involved. Your older kids (or their friends who have divorced parents) might be more sensitive to hearing you talk about these things.

So be sensitive when you talk to your kids about legal issues. These legal conversations might be the first time your children realize you really are getting divorced. Listen to what they are feeling and answer their questions in a caring and supportive way.

Maybe your children will feel more comfortable about the legal process if they know that it’s there to help bring some order to the process and that the laws try to protect everyone’s rights.

Your kids should read the law sections of the kids' guide and teen guide.  These sections explain

• the laws about separation and divorce,
• what it means to separate or divorce,
• the difference between separation and divorce,
• how this is different if parents aren’t married,
• custody,
• parenting time,
• visitation,
• child support,
• mediation, and
• separation agreements.

You might be intimidated by the laws surrounding separation and divorce, too. That’s OK. These laws can be confusing! Visit CTLawHelp.org to learn more about the legal process and how to prepare for it.