Despite the best of intentions, divorce can be an incredibly emotional and sometimes difficult experience for the adults involved.

It can be even more upsetting for children – having the balance of life at home disturbed when parents go their separate ways.

That is one reason why the divorce process places a premium on trying to protect children as much as possible.

The opening passage of the very legislation, in fact, which is applied to ensure the well-being of children in such circumstances  – the Children Act 1989 – states that “the child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration”.

Much of the effort invested by the family court, family lawyers like myself, schools and other agencies is directed at taking care of younger children.

Child Inclusive Mediation, something offered by Hall Brown Family Law as part of its non-court dispute resolution service, is also designed to make certain that the views of younger children are taken directly into account as part of the divorce process.

Yet, it is important to point out that the rupture caused by a divorce affects older children too.

Sometimes, their sentiments are felt outside the family and the family court.

This week, I’ve been talking to BBC Radio Five Live following the admission by the actor Ewan McGregor that poor relations with one of his daughters, Clara, prompted by his divorce from her mother were only resolved when they made a movie together.

Mr McGregor, who married Eva Mavrakis the year before he achieved fame in the film ‘Trainspotting’, acknowledged that the split had been “very painful time” for Clara and his three other children.

In the wake of his beginning a relationship with ‘Fargo’ co-star Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clara had taken to social media to air her hurt, describing her father’s new partner as “a piece of trash”.

Clara later said that she regretted the outburst and subsequently wrote a screenplay for a movie, ‘Bleeding Love’, in which she and her father both appear.

It is not the first time in recent history that a celebrity has remarked on the impact which their parents’ divorce has had.

‘Emily In Paris’ star Lily Collins wrote a book in 2017 explaining that the divorce of her father – musician and actor Phil Collins – to her mother, Jill Travelman, were behind “many of my deepest insecurities”.

She added, though, that she had forgiven him for “not always being there” and “not being the dad I expected”.

As I told Five Live’s Rima Ahmed, the effect of divorce on adult children can have immediate practicalities.

What is for some the prohibitive cost of home ownership means that many adult children still live with their parents.

Many more are financially dependent for things such as higher education course fees or financial support while they are on low incomes as they try to establish careers.

A recent US study concluded that watching their parents break up can leave some adult children feeling ‘in the middle’.

The research also identified that parental divorce can cause headaches when it comes to family rituals, such as holidays, and the possible weddings of the children themselves.

Official figures suggest that these complications should not come as a surprise. Divorces involving individuals of middle-age and older – so-called ‘silver splits’ – continue to increase.

Marital splits among spouses over 60, for instance, have risen by just over one-third since the 1973 Matrimonial Causes Act came into force.

Whilst the methods and language may differ according to the age of the children concerned, I would suggest that the broad approach should be consistent: finding the most appropriate way to explain the change that will happen and the intention to remain as practically a part of their lives as possible.  This involves accepting that the other parent will also remain a part of their children’s lives, even if you don’t like it.  Ultimately, separated parents must keep thinking about trying to limit any harm to their children including adult children (and grandchildren in some cases) when moving forward with their lives.  Undergoing divorce counselling can help with this.

Doing so holds out the prospect of mitigating any potential damage to relationships and preserving family ties even as the family members themselves form new relationships.