Coping With Grief When the Family Composition Changes
As with all things, family life inevitably includes change. Whether it's through separation, custodial changes, divorce, or the loss of a loved one, navigating loss and grief can be a daunting journey.
Topics: Child Custody, Mental Health, Parenting
Surviving the Sandwich Generation
In Episode 18 of the Family Matters With ReeseLaw podcast, How Do I Care for My Parents and Children, Kate Reese spoke with Jennifer Folsom, author of The Ringmaster: Work, Life, and Keeping it All Together, about her experience with this issue. Their conversation touched on some important ways to manage the additional responsibilities that come with being in the Sandwich Generation.
Topics: Mental Health, Parenting
Co-Parenting a Neurodivergent Child
When parents share legal or physical custody of their child, they must have some measurement of agreement on how to raise the child.
Topics: Child Custody, Parenting
Parenting and Teen Safe Driving
The US Department of Transportation designates October 15-21, 2023, as National Teen Safe Driving Week - an important initiative to raise awareness about teenage drivers' risks and challenges and promote safe driving habits among young drivers.
Topics: Child Custody, Parenting
Changes That Come With Remarriage
A divorce does not always mean that the relationship doesn’t continue to impact the lives of the former spouses. If there are children, then issues of custody and support may require continued communication. In some cases, one spouse is awarded spousal support, which may create an additional basis for interaction. When one of the parties moves on to a new romantic partnership, there can be significant changes to the status quo. While this should not be the basis for deciding whether to start a new relationship or consider remarriage, it is essential to understand some of the possible consequences.
Topics: Mental Health, Parenting, PrenuptialsEffectively Putting the Kids First in a Divorce
In Episode 22 of the Family Matters podcast, Kate Reese said, "Even though I work for the parents, I am always mindful of the children in my case: how old are they, what do they need, how are things going at home for them." Throughout this informative and insightful episode, Kate and her guest, mental health counselor, Phyllis Palombi, shared their professional experience and insights into the parties least likely to be represented in a divorce - the children. And yet, these are the ones most likely to suffer repeated traumas, long-term because of the divorce. Together, Kate and Phyllis offered some important considerations for divorced parents.
Topics: Child Custody, Divorce Law, ParentingManaging the Custody and Support During Summer Break
When school lets out, the regular schedule for the kids goes out the window, and managing their summer schedule presents a co-parenting challenge. Camps, playdates, vacations, and even day-to-day childcare all require planning and often have an associated expense. While some custodial arrangements will go into detail about how to handle the basics of summer break, it is unlikely that every eventuality will be covered. Here are some tips for avoiding conflict in the dog days of summer.
Topics: Child Custody, Child Support, Mental Health, ParentingIt's Graduation. What Happens to Custody and Support?
High school graduation is a significant rite of passage for young people, but it also signals a transition for parents, especially when they are not together. As the graduate prepares to enter the next phase of their life, parents should be aware of the many ways that adulthood can impact their rights and obligations concerning their children
Topics: Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce Law, ParentingCo-parenting A Special Needs Child
Children can bring out the best and worst in parents, and when that child has special needs, it can be a struggle to address those needs unless the parents are aligned. A change in the family system should not interfere with the care of a child, but in the real world, this can be a challenge that many families face,
Topics: Child Custody, Child Support, Mental Health, ParentingDe-Escalating Conflict Between Parents and Teens by Bethany Bray
It's natural for adolescent development and parent-child conflict to go hand in hand. Le-Ann Solmonson, a licensed professional counselor (LPC) who owns a private practice in Nacogdoches, Texas, has worked with children and adolescents in school and clinical settings throughout her career. Time and time again, she's seen families fall into a pattern as children reach adolescence: The youth wants more autonomy - a normal aspect of adolescent development - and begins to push against their parent's rules and boundaries. In response, the parents tighten their control or inflict punishment, only to have the adolescent push back harder, break more rules and chafe against their parents' preferences. Thus begins a repeating spiral of friction, frustration and misunderstanding - on the part of both the teenager and the parents.
Topics: Child Custody, Mental Health, ParentingNavigating the Holidays for the Sandwich Generation
The "sandwich generation" refers to adults who are caring for aging parents and minor children at the same time. According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2022, 23% of separated or divorced spouses are part of the sandwich generation. For them, planning and celebrating holidays can have an extra layer of challenge, particularly for people who share custody of their children. Fostering togetherness and honoring the traditions associated with the holidays can feel overwhelming, with two generations of family needing support and attention. Here are some tips for navigating the complex family dynamics and demands while still celebrating the holidays.
Topics: Mental Health, ParentingTackling Homework With Your Kids
With the new school year come challenges and opportunities to help your children succeed in school. Every family and every child is different, so it can be hard to know what approach to take with a perennial struggle with homework. Whether a child is in one house or two, there are some approaches that can help bring about success. In Podcast Episode 17, Kate Reese spoke with Ann K. Dolin, M. Ed., the founder and owner of Education Connections, a tutoring business that serves the Northern Virginia area. Ann shared some useful perspectives and practices that apply to all families with school-aged children.
Topics: ParentingAfter the Separation: Tips for Making a Healthy New Family Unit
When parents split up, children are forced out of the lives they know into unknown territory. No matter the level of acrimony, this transition is difficult, and often traumatic. While each family is different, and many factors can impact how children survive and thrive with this major change, parents can take some specific steps to ease the kids into a new normal.
Topics: Child Custody, Mental Health, Parenting5 Keys to an Effective Conversation
In Episode 14 of our podcast, Kate talks with Dr. Kevin Miller. Dr. Miller provides therapy to adults of all ages. He also has extensive experience addressing relationship difficulties, including marital, dating, family, and workplace relationships. He uses an integrative therapeutic style, incorporating existential psychology. We are going to be discussing How to Start the Conversation with your Spouse to Avoid Divorce.
Topics: Mental Health, ParentingFour Tips When it is Two Homes for the Holidays
When custody is shared between two households, the holidays can be a challenge. As a time traditionally spent with family, it can be difficult when the children can only be one place at a time. Over the decades that we’ve worked in family law in Northern Virginia, we’ve learned that this can turn joy into stress for the parents and the children. In our latest podcast, we discuss the issue, and we identify four ways to help minimize difficulties.
Topics: Child Custody, Mental Health, Parenting5 Common Physical Custody Mistakes
When it comes to a change in family relationships and new custodial arrangements, the transition and implementation can get bitter and divisive. Some of this is a natural byproduct of change, but other issues arise because the underlying relationships were negative already. To lessen the impact of these factors, parents and other custodians need to be careful to avoid some critical mistakes that add to the challenge.
Topics: Child Custody, Child Support, ParentingSupporting Your LGBTQ Child
In the most recent podcast, Kate Reese, and her guest, Cyndi Turner, an expert in counseling and co-founder and Clinical Director of Insight Into Action Therapy, had an insightful conversation about supporting a child who is grappling with their LGBTQ identity. Â
Topics: Child Custody, Child Support, ParentingMental Health Considerations & the Dissolution of a Family
May is Mental Health Awareness month, and there’s little doubt that changes in a family’s structure presents a mental health challenge to everyone impacted.
Topics: Mental Health, ParentingThe Importance of a Co-Parenting Agreement
When a married couple decide to divorce, the children are a major consideration since they play such an important part of their lives. Even unmarried parents who go through a split will need to make some plans.
Topics: Child Custody, Child Support, Mental Health, ParentingHandling the Stress of Family Transitions
When it comes to life's biggest stressors, the majority involve transitions within the family. Change within this unit creates uncertainty that is both a challenge and an opportunity.
Topics: Mental Health, ParentingYou've Been Served with Custody Papers in Virginia: Now What?
Getting served with legal papers is a frightening experience. A stranger, sometimes even a sheriff, hands you an envelope that contains multiple pages of legalese. Many people go their whole lives without being involved in a legal action, so it is a new, unpleasant experience to know that you are going to have to deal with the legal system.
Topics: Child Custody, Child Support, Choosing a Lawyer, Divorce Law, ParentingParental Rights and Education Issues
Aside from home, health, and maintenance, one of the biggest parenting issues when raising children is their education. Following a divorce, legal and physical custodial rights do not necessarily dictate where a child will be educated or what role each parent will play in education, so this issue can become a source of dispute between the parties.
Topics: Child Custody, Child Support, ParentingWhat You Need to Know about E-cigarettes and Vaping
As more and more cases of vaping-related lung illness pop up across the country, the dangers of e-cigarettes and vaping are becoming more apparent. Maybe you saw the news story about the 19-year-old college student from Florida who needs a lung and kidney transplant. Or the 18-year-old Illinois student athlete who now has the lungs of a 70-year-old. Or the 21-year-old from Sacramento who went into acute respiratory failure. All results of vaping.
Topics: ParentingBeing A Love With Someone
Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and it's a good time to think about love. Rather than contemplate the joys of being "in" love, why not consider being "a" love with someone? Being in love is a wonderful, intense sensation - but that- is all it is: a sensation. It is a chemical reaction that lasts 7-17 months, and the end can be a real let down. Being a love means being a partner in life, someone who is a source of support, growth and affection. Being a love "with" someone means finding the person or persons who return what you give in equal amounts.
Topics: Mental Health, ParentingHow Will We Protect the Children?
Whether they are children of intact, separating, divorcing, or unmarried families, children require the financial support of their parents. In fact, parents are obligated to provide support for their children. That is simple enough, but when parents are separating, divorcing, or unmarried, determining how much support must be paid, to whom the support is to be paid, the expenses to which the support is applied, and what to do if support is not paid, becomes very difficult.
Topics: Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce Law, Parenting
