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If your parents are splitting up, you might want to know how separation and divorce laws work. This section tells you

  • the difference between separation and divorce;
  • what happens when parents who aren't married separate;
  • what kinds of decisions parents have to make when they’re splitting up;
  • about processes your parents may use to resolve their conflicts; and
  • what the legal terms such as “parental rights and responsibilities,” “residence” and “parent-child contact” mean.

You can also find a glossary of keywords.

Q & A

Q:
Who decides who I will live with? Do I get a say?
A:

In some cases, your parents will make the decisions together about who you will live with and how that will work.

If they can't decide themselves, they might go to a mediator for help in reaching an agreement. Or they might have to go to court and have a judge make the decisions for them.

Whether your parents make the decisions about custody and parenting time (visitation) themselves, or with the help of a mediator or a judge, your opinion may be taken into account.

Q:
Will I be able to spend time with both parents?
A:

In the vast majority of cases, children get to spend time with both parents. How much time you spend with each parent, and exactly how that will work, will depend on your custody and parenting time (visitation) arrangements.

Remember: Parents divorce each other, not their children. Your parents are still your parents, and they still love you.

Q:
My parents never married. Do they have to go through the same process that married parents do when they split up?
A:

Parents who never married or chose to live together without getting married—don't have to get a divorce, because there is no marriage to end. But they do need to decide what will happen to their children and how they will divide their property.