Marsha Temlock

What a pity when the seeds of divorce are sowed at the wedding. Bridezillas, pushy wedding planners, fights with the in-laws, sibling rivalries, disgruntled relatives, sparring divorced parents, a MOB who thinks this is her day -- the dream of a lifetime that on average costs about $27,000 (not including...

"Mad Men" does it again by focusing on another issue that crops up in divorce -- step-grandparenting. Two episodes ago, I was reminded of the difficulties when step-grandma Pauline babysits Don and Betty's preteen daughter Sally. For starters, Sally refuses to eat a tuna fish sandwich (relish, ugh) prepared by...

What is one's moral obligation when the ex is seriously ill? For a variety of reasons, former spouses will react with sadness, remorse, guilt, bitterness, and, dare I say, relief that the end is in sight.

Take the former wife who included this postscript in her get-well note: "I'd like...

When her ex-daughter-in-law moved, Jessica knew she would be the grand loser. Living on a fixed income, there was no way she would be able to afford the airfare to visit her grandchildren. After the divorce, her relationship with the children's mother was strained. Now that their mother had remarried,...

When I think about the detritus post-divorce, I'm not talking about couples haggling over household property, the spat over who gets the cat, and the painful tug-of-war when a marriage goes south.

I'm thinking about parents of the divorcing couple who are left with the (for lack of a...

Is your boss the reason you got divorced? I don't mean to imply a ménage a trios, but rather your workload got so heavy it out-weighed your marriage vows?

It's hard enough to make marriage work in the best of times, and even more challenging when the average American...

Children, young children as well as older ones, typically engage in magical thinking about getting their divorced parents back together. Bereavement counselors explain that a child's grief often extends into adulthood. There have been countless longitudinal studies about how children of divorce cope long after their parents' split. Even those...

Most parents struggle with the ongoing issue of how much financial support to give to their children. The problem becomes that much more pressing when their son or daughter seeks help during his or her separation and/or divorce. Especially in these tough economic times when seniors find their retirement and...

Donna M. is a long-distance grandmother. Through technology she has been able to maintain a relationship with her sixteen-year-old grandson. She pokes him on Facebook and, a couple of times a month, they visit on Skype. When her son and daughter-in-law started having marital problems, Donna kept trying to reach...

What is the role of a friend or family member when someone they care about is getting divorced?

Divorce is a loyalty test. It's all too easy to fail that test even when you think you are acting in a friend or family member's best interest.

Case in point:...

Summer is often a time when grandparents are recruited to spend time with their grandkids. A beleaguered single-again parent deserves time off and, if money is tight, Camp Grandma and Grandpa is a logical choice. So why not offer to take the kids for a week or two, especially if...

It's very difficult for many divorced couples to cut the umbilical cord. First, there are their children. Joint custody assumes that both parents will consult each other when making important decisions about their welfare. Even when there is a custodial and non-custodial parent, children, obviously, do best when they can...

In 2009 -- 2010 there was a 13% jump in couples living together, and the number of cohabitation keeps growing. Sure, we can blame it on the bum economy, but maybe the reality is marriage is simply out-dated. It's had it's time. It's played out.

When I was researching...

It's bad enough when your parents, friends and plain old budinskis tell you to stick out your marriage, but now the Feds are getting in the act. Walk though a subway car and you might see a poster that shows a couple lying in bed. Mouth wide open, he's snoring...

Sadly, there's a lot of antagonism that builds after divorce. Instead of couples moving on with their lives, the grueling disruptions, the stresses, the ambivalence, the guilt, and the power struggles intensify hostilities.

Individuals who are not ready to fold their tents, seek new battlefields. They need allies to...

Nothing throws life more off kilter than when a single again offspring in the throes of divorce is looking for a safe harbor and family is the anchor. According to the Bureau of Statistics, in this difficult economy the divorce stats are down. Many more unhappy couples who cannot afford...

Parents walk a slippery slope when their child gets divorced. Even if they couldn't find a single good thing to say about the marriage, even if they were long distance parents, they are expected to wave the family banner and support their child.

There are, of course,those parents who...

When an adult child's marriage ends, it's not just the divorcing couple and their children who are hurt. What many people do not realize is that the grandparents are struggling with a ton of emotions and questions. The following is a pretty typical story about the issues seniors face.