I
t is hard to imagine a more
stressful time than one where
you are suddenly experiencing
marital difficulties particularly
if you are far from home. Without the
comfort of close family members, it
can be extremely lonely when difficult
decisions – such as whether to go as far
as divorce – have to be made.
The good news is that Hong Kong
has a number of professionals who
can help, from marriage counsellors
to specialist family lawyers and
mediators. If the marriage can be
saved, try to persuade your other half
to attend sessions with a professional
counsellor to try to patch things up.
Starting the process
If the marriage can’t be saved,
mediation is a good place to start,
as it tends to focus the minds of
divorcing couples towards what they
can agree on, rather than what they
want to fight over. Mediation builds
common ground, such as thinking
about the best interests of the children,
as opposed to thinking from polar
opposites, such as ‘I want the kids
When
Love
D
o
w
n
…
Breaks
Although we all hope it will never
happen to us it’s a sad fact that
many marriages end in divorce.
Lawyer
Philippa Hewitt
has some
advice on how to handle things.
56
