With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we’re often reminded of the value of love. While romantic love is certainly the focus of the holiday, the true meaning and expanse of love reaches much further—love for self, and love for family.
It goes without saying that family law matters can be hard on the spirit. They represent a time of change within the family dynamic, and bring forth different forms of responsibilities and a need for decision-making that can feel overwhelming. With so much happening, it can be easy to let your own well-being fall to the wayside. Because of the emotional impact these matters can have, it’s important that you take the time to practice self-care, not only for your own sake, but for the overall well-being of your entire family.
Self-Care During Divorce
Depending on where you are in the divorce process, there are a few things you could focus on to practice self-care, and in turn, pro-active care of your family. If you’re currently contemplating divorce, signing up for discernment counseling could be a productive way of determining if divorce is the best route for you and your spouse before filing any paperwork, in turn instilling a sense of confidence in both parties that could make the dissolution process easier for everyone.
If you’re in the midst of a divorce, prioritizing self-care, and thus being emotionally healthy, available, and stable, is one of the best gifts you can give your family, especially your children, during any big change. Remember that you do not have to bear the weight of you divorce alone—call on friends when in need, and utilize available resources that can offer aid. Pacific Cascade Legal, for example, has a variety of resources and connections to professionals, such as therapists and mediators, who can help lighten any burdens you may be struggling with during your family law case.
Self-Care During Probate
Hashing out the details of a probate matter can be exhausting, and coupled with the grief of having recently lost a loved one, it can easily become a process that leaves you feeling drained. Make sure that, amidst the process, you’re allowing yourself the time to come to terms with the recent loss, and incorporating certain aspects in your day that will help facilitate healing—whether that be finding alone time to process, investing in counseling or a hobby, or carving out time to invest in your other family members.
In addition to this, probate matters have a way of highlighting the importance of having a will created and being prepared for your own passing, as challenging of a topic as that can be to address. Creating a will is, in many ways, a great resource for honoring your loved ones long-term, and helps to ensure that disputes regarding property won’t drive wedges in-between family members.
Regardless of your family law case, self-care matters. It matters for your own mental and emotional health, but it also matters to your family, and is a profound way of loving those in your life well.
Lewis Irwin Landerholm
Founding Partner
Lewis Landerholm realized the importance of family and justice from a very young age. With grandparents in the legal field, a mother in education and a father who was a domestic violence counselor, Lewis was raised by a family dedicated to helping people. His role models taught Lewis that the world is a complicated place where education and a helping hand could make all the difference.
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