Every divorce can be challenging in different ways, but if your divorcing spouse has narcissistic personality disorder, you can expect yours to be even more so. If you already know what you’re up against and have come to the difficult realization that your soon-to-be-ex is a narcissist, the best practice is to turn to an experienced Fort Worth divorce attorney who will diligently help protect both your parental and financial rights.
Narcissists Aren’t Afraid to Involve the Children
A divorce is the dissolution of a legal contract – your marriage contract – and children should be as protected as they possibly can from this difficult transition. After all, their lives are changing in ways that they likely can’t even comprehend.
Unfortunately, narcissists often place the whole blame for the divorce on the other spouse, and they can consider themselves to be the “right” one and their spouse the “wrong” one. As such, your spouse probably won’t have any problem sharing painful information (that may have no bearing in reality) with your children – regardless of the fact that they are neither mature enough nor equipped to handle it. This is a situation in which consulting with an experienced and compassionate family counselor is well advised.
Narcissists Are Not Interested in Negotiating
Divorce is all about negotiating terms that you are both willing to sign off on, but narcissists tend to have no use for this collaborative approach. Basically, if your divorcing spouse’s demands aren’t met, you can expect fireworks, which is why channeling your efforts into proceeding directly to court can save you from fruitless efforts to find common ground with your narcissist.
Narcissists Crave Drama
If you’re facing a divorce, your goal is naturally to tone down the drama and to focus on obtaining terms that protect your financial and parental rights. Narcissists take a different approach, and you shouldn’t be surprised if your divorcing spouse does everything he or she can do to turn up the heat. While there’s nothing you can do about your divorcing spouse’s antics, not engaging in them is almost certainly the best practice.
Protect Yourself and Your Rights
If you’re divorcing a narcissist, the bottom line is protecting yourself, your children, and your parental and financial rights throughout the process, and all of the following can help:
- Trust your experienced divorce attorney and make it your practice to engage with your divorcing spouse as little as necessary.
- Get your children the help they need (they may not be able to express their emotional pain, but they will almost certainly experience it).
- Concentrate on the work ahead and not on the mayhem your ex is stirring up.
- Remain focused on the big picture and not on the niggling details that will only serve to drain you.
Seek the Professional Legal Counsel of an Experienced Fort Worth Divorce Attorney Today
If you are divorcing a narcissist, you can expect plenty of challenges ahead, but the practiced Fort Worth divorce attorneys at The Law Office of J. Kevin Clark are on your side and are well prepared to skillfully advocate for divorce terms that work for you and your children. To learn more, please don’t hesitate to contact us online or call us at 817-348-6723 today.
