Divorce can take time — but your relationship may have long unraveled prior to filing your petition, and now you are looking at months or even a year before the marriage is over.
Needless to say, you may want to date during this time, even though you’re legally married. But should you?
You can make your own decisions, but there’s reason to be wary
What you choose to do, of course, is up to you. You can make your own relationship decisions. That said, there are some reasons to be wary of dating at this time, and many relationship experts advise against it.
For one thing, divorce is generally faster and easier when you and your ex are on good terms. If he or she knows you have a new partner, that just reduces the odds that things will go smoothly. By dating early, you could make your own case a lot harder than it needs to be.
Dating can also cause issues with your parenting plan. Your ex may not like your new partner (which is certainly not a surprise) but will that mean he or she now wants to keep the children away from that person? Your ex may have been happy to share custody before, but now they may want sole custody. Or, barring that, they may want a parenting plan that puts some separation between the kids and any new romantic partners.
Some relationship experts also warn about the impact dating during a divorce can have on kids. If you children, remember that your divorce can be a hard time for them, and you definitely don’t want to do anything to make it harder.
Learning about your legal options
As you consider how you want your divorce to play out, make sure you also take the time to learn about your options. When you have big decisions to make, it’s always wise to run your plans past an attorney before you act.
