Tips to Make the New Year Easier on Your Newly Divorced Family
If you have recently been through a divorce, the holiday season and New Year may be a difficult time for you and your family. Getting through this time of year may be especially hard if you and your ex share children. Here are a few important tips to keep in mind to help make the New Year holiday easier for yourself and your family after your divorce.
Maintain Traditions
If you have children, it is important to maintain holiday and New Year’s traditions with your kids as much as possible. If you have the kids for New Year’s, try to keep up with family and cultural traditions you enjoyed with your children during your marriage. Even if your ex will have the kids for New Year’s, there’s nothing wrong with continuing to follow New Year’s traditions that you enjoy.
Start New Memories
If for whatever reason you cannot maintain traditions you followed prior to your divorce, consider starting new traditions. For example, if you won’t have the kids on New Year’s Eve or Day but will have parenting time immediately prior to or after the holiday, you may start new traditions and make new memories when you do have time with your kids. Alternatively, you may decide to begin making new traditions and memories for the New Year’s holiday with extended family or friends.
Talk Things Out with Your Ex
You can help make the holiday season and New Year’s easier for your kids and your family by taking the time to have a calm, productive conversation with your ex about how you both want the holidays to go for your family. For example, if you haven’t sorted out custody for the holidays, you will want to discuss when each of you will have parenting time, including whether either of you wants to take the kids on a vacation over the school break. Do either of you have a problem keeping up certain holiday traditions or are certain traditions more important to one of you? If so, you may both agree that the parent who can keep up traditions for the kids should have parenting time on certain holidays. In any event, you will want to iron out any disputes or grievances with your ex before the holidays when you’ll have your kids and other family members around.
Even if you have had a less than amicable divorce from your spouse, if you share children with one another you will both be in each other’s lives at least until all your children are grown. This makes it important to develop a good working relationship with your ex when it comes to your children.
Focus On Your Kids
Finally, it can help you remember to focus on your children around the holidays. Kids grow so fast, so you have precious few opportunities to make holiday memories with your children. In addition, by making sure that you and your children enjoy the holiday season and New Year’s together, you can help relieve the emotional sting that your children may still be feeling from your divorce.
Contact a Cherry Hill Family Law Attorney for a Consultation About Divorce in New Jersey Today
If you are thinking about filing for divorce, or if you have already started the divorce process and are dealing with another matter such as child custody, child support, or division of assets, you need to speak with a qualified attorney. Family law attorney, Lois Garber Schwartz, Esq. represents clients throughout the state, including Cherry Hill, Mt. Laurel, Haddonfield, and Pennsauken. She understands how challenging this time can be for you, which is why she will fight hard to protect your interests, and the interests of your loved ones, throughout the legal process. Call her at (856) 482-8799 or fill out our confidential contact form to schedule a consultation. She has an office conveniently located at 1040 Kings Hwy. N., Suite 202, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034.
The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.