Recent News

Divorce affects more than just a husband and wife. Seventy five percent of all divorces occur in families with children. The 2001 statistics from the US Census Bureau indicted that, by the time they are 18 years old, 70% of white children and 94% of African Americans born in 1990 will live with only one parent. These are alarming statistics.

 

No matter how much parents try to hide their marital conflicts, children sense the tension and may act out reactions to it. Once a divorce is announced to children, their reactions go through much the same stages as if a parent had died.

 

Initially, they may deny the reality of the divorce, insisting that the separation will only be temporary. Denial is then followed by anger, which may be directed at one or both parents, or even turned inwards. The third stage, depression, is marked by fear of abandonment, ridicule from friends and classmates, or lifelong misery. Conscious acceptance of the changes the divorce will bring marks the final step. New research indicates that children sometimes harbor the unconscious hope, long after the divorce is final, that their parents will reconcile.

 

Decisions regarding child custody and other parenting arrangements occur within several different legal contexts, including parental divorce, guardianship, neglect or abuse proceedings, and termination of parental rights.

 

Dr. Lowenstein will discuss the psychologist’s role in a domestic case in his presentation for “Advanced Issues for Guardians ad Litem” on Monday, November 12 from 9 a.m. – 4:30 for 5.5 hours of CLE credit which includes 0.5 hours of substance abuse credit. The seminar also offers 5.0 hours of Domestic Relations Specialist credit.

 

Lunch will be provided by Focus Health Care, and during lunch, registrants are invited to attend the Family Law Committee meeting for discussion of the proposed spousal support statute. Register online here or by phone at 614/221.4112 for event #3727.