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Sadly, I have been asked to provide expert testimony on several legal cases that involve educating expatriate children of divorced or divorcing couples.  As these situations can quickly escalate, getting off to a clear start is crucial to maintain the best possible experience for the children affected by this difficult circumstance. Typically the issues around a child’s schooling when an expatriate marriage breaks up are related to custody.  In the case of a local divorce custody issues may be complex, but they are simple compared with those that surface when a family lives outside their home country.  This article presents families, HR and legal counselors with some guidelines for addressing schooling decisions when parents divorce overseas from home.

The complications families encounter typically revolve around some or all of these questions:

• - Visitation or dual custody is impossible;
• - The child has already (perhaps recently) experienced a change of schools – is it fair to put her through more disruption  from friends as well as a forced change in academic program at a particularly vulnerable time?
• - Did the child perform better – and was he happier - at the school back home or the school abroad?
• - Which school is “better?” often a code word for more exclusive reputation and/or better chances of university admission?

Exposure to strange lands with different cultures and customs can be confusing if not outright terrifying. However, studies indicate that children from one culture who travel to and grow up embracing a new culture gain a strong sense of self dependence that benefits them greatly as adults.