Family related news included: a look at how disabled parents are often discriminated against in custody cases; touching stories shared by children of divorce; and the importance of the “chosen family.” Also in the news is a personal account of “wife abandonment syndrome” and some financial tips for gray divorcing couples.
Patricia Fersch, Forbes, June 20, 2023
“Best Interest of the Child" is the standard used in all fifty states for the ultimate determination of child custody in a disputed child custody case. A physical disability is often invoked as a negative factor in the courts weighing the scales of the two parents. The author suggests that the courts adopt the Nexus test, in which the other parent has the burden of showing how the disabled parent’s disability harms the child. Only if the court finds a Nexus can the court consider the parent’s disability in its best interest analysis.
Aviva Pinto, AARP, June 22, 2023
The author shares that ending a marriage can be brutal, both emotionally and certainly financially, particularly for older women who may not be familiar with the couple’s finances. Even those with little financial experience can become savvy by asking the right questions and seeking help from the right experts.
Dani Blum, The New York Times, June 25, 2023
In the L.G.B.T.Q. community, it’s not uncommon to find a substitute family, colloquially known as a chosen family. The term refers to “nonbiological kinship bonds that many people choose because they need to have mutual support and love,” said Trevor Gates-Crandall, a social worker in Colorado who has researched chosen families.
Belle Burden, The New York Times, June 30, 2023
The author shares: “When the lockdown started in March 2020, my husband and I decided to quarantine with our two youngest children, then 15 and 12, at our house on Martha’s Vineyard… A week later, on March 22, at 6 a.m., my husband told me he wanted a divorce. He packed a bag, got in his Jeep and boarded a ferry… We had been married for nearly 21 years…I thought I knew my husband of 20 years. I didn’t — and still don’t…And eventually, after many months, I found myself on a road that had less of a relationship to his, and I stopped looking backward and sideways, only ahead.”
Modern Love, The New York Times, July 12, 2023
The youngest Modern Love essayist shares a story of divorce from the child’s perspective. In addition, listeners share stories about when their parents’ divorce became real for them.