While all family law issues are difficult, divorce is possibly one of the most challenging to navigate. Throughout this experience, you must remember to keep your children informed to help them transition to this new phase of life as smoothly as possible. While it won't be easy to tell your kids about your upcoming divorce, these tips can help you handle the conversation with confidence.

How to Talk to Your Kids About Divorce

1. Schedule a Family Meeting

The discussion that you have with your family will be serious, so it's important to prepare. This means scheduling it for a time and place where there will be minimal distractions, and where your children will feel free to express themselves. The conversation may be emotional, so it's wise to avoid public settings.

2. Get Both Parents Involved 

Although matters of family law can get contentious, it's important to work with your partner as a team for this conversation. If you both participate in the discussion, your kids will likely take the news a little better. Presenting a united front will show them that you'll both still be there for them, and they won't be losing their parents.

3. Plan Ahead With Your Spouse

Get together with your spouse ahead of time to talk about what you'll say. In addition to planning the conversation, you should agree to keep your personal feelings to yourselves. You never want to place blame or talk badly about each other to your children, and that's especially true when you're discussing your divorce.

4. Prepare for Questions & Reactions

Some children may react right away, while others may need time to process the news. Either way, you should expect plenty of questions and emotional reactions, such as sadness, guilt, anger, and fear. When your kids do ask questions, answer them as honestly as possible. While you should spare unfortunate details, you should also avoid lying or misrepresenting the truth. If they seem to be having a hard time dealing with their feelings, counseling may help.

Getting divorced is a complicated process that will affect almost every aspect of your life. To ensure your physical assets, savings, investments, and parental rights are protected, trust in O'Connor, Mikita & Davidson. This Cincinnati, OH, firm has over 20 years of family law practice to draw upon when representing you. To learn more about their legal team, visit their website. To schedule an initial consultation, call (513) 793-5297.