The honeymoon is over, the magic is gone and you’re both talking to your lawyers.
Separation and divorce are hard for everyone in the family, but there are resources available to help couples who’ve had enough of each other make the transition easier on their children.
The CBA National Family Law Section, in partnership with the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family, has collected on- and off-line resources into a curated list designed to equip lawyers to better help separating parents find useful and accurate information on parenting after separation and resolving parenting challenges.
“(The toolkit) is primarily intended to increase family lawyers’ awareness of the best available information to better assist parents in transforming relationships from being a couple to being successful co-parents,” the Section says in the introduction. “As the first point of contact for many separating parents, effective lawyers need to be aware of the best practices and social science on family restructuring, and should be equipped to easily direct parents to quality resources for further guidance and information.”
The first section contains general material about parenting after separation, and lawyers should consider directing every parent to that information. The remaining sections are more focused on specific circumstances or concerns.
The information in the toolkit is focused on parenting, rather than on law. It provides useful information, but does not replace assistance from mental health professionals or lawyers.
The Successfully Parenting Apart toolkit will be launched at the end of April and will be available on the CBA National Family Law Section website.