If you are going through a divorce with kids, it is common to have a joint custody situation after the legal proceedings finish. Often, reinventing your life in the aftermath of a divorce is one of the most challenging parts of the process; reimagining how you parent your children is part of it.
In order to do the best you can for your children, it is important for you and your ex-spouse to commit yourselves to positive co-parenting. According to Divorce Mag, you should try to discuss co-parenting before you finalize the divorce and structure your communications in such a way as to minimize conflict.
Talk before you walk
Talking about your life with your soon-to-be ex-spouse after divorce can be very difficult. However, you will need to have hard discussions about how you were going to manage joint custody after your divorce.
You may benefit from working in tandem with a professional to create a detailed parenting plan as a part of the divorce process. This will help you and your ex-spouse talk about how you will handle future family celebrations, resolve disputes regarding the children and figure out how physical and legal custody will work.
Talk the right way
If you and your ex-spouse have a contentious relationship, the idea of working with them after divorce may seem like a punishment. However, a joint custody situation necessitates communication between the parents. If you and your ex-spouse do not get along, you may wish to limit communication to a more formal means, like email. This way you do not have to respond to your ex-spouse instantaneously, which can help you keep the communication calm and kid-focused.
