Dating during Divorce

 Posted on January 22, 2015 in Family Law

As your separation or divorce works through the legal system, you may be exploring a relationship with a new significant other. While the law may not directly deal with dating during divorce, doing so can affect your case in many ways. Dating during divorce is something you should discuss with your lawyer, and determine how exactly your case may be impacted.

Quite obviously, a divorce can get messy and emotional. With tensions running high, any change, no matter how small, can be interpreted as a spiteful maneuver. If you start dating during divorce, your soon to be ex-spouse will unlikely be unhappy about that. Of course, you may think that their happiness is of absolutely no concern to you given that you are getting a divorce. However, beginning a new relationship in the midst of a divorce (or continuing a previous relationship) can have negative consequences for you.

Impact on Negotiations

Most Illinois divorce cases settle through out-of-court agreements. Often, these agreements are negotiated during or after mediation. During mediation, a neutral, third party (the mediator) guides both spouses through negotiation of disputed issues. The goal of mediation is to save time, save on litigation costs, and to resolve their issues without resorting to trial. Of course, for a successful mediation, or any type of private settlement, both parties need to be willing to work together. With some cooperation, a settlement may not be reached. And resolving every issue through litigation can take a long time, not to mention a lot of money in court costs. If you date during your divorce, your upset spouse may become completely unwilling to negotiate and solve issues in a timely manner.

Your New Significant Other and Your Children

Engaging with a new partner can also have an extreme impact on your child. Divorce is hard for children as well as adults. Bringing a new person into your life may greatly upset your child, and affect your long-term relationship with each other. Additionally, your child may no longer want to live or visit with you. A judge may take your child’s wishes to live with their other parent into consideration when deciding custody.

Call Reputable DuPage County Divorce Firm

Dating while divorcing is a sensitive issue. In some situations, there will be little impact on your legal case. More often, however, dating can cause a lot of complications. If you are concerned about how your new relationship could affect your divorce, call the experienced DuPage County family lawyers at Martoccio & Martoccio today. Our attorneys have helped countless divorcing spouses throughout DuPage County. Schedule a free consultation with an attorney and get your questions answered. We are prepared to help you through this time in any way that we can.