Also it can take years for a person to be processed and accepted, and if you get divorced during that time you would have to start all over. Easier to just stay legally married until the process is completed, then separate.

Ok but are the children ok? Are they safe after the father clearly had a mental breakdown? And are the adults going to be charged with abandoning the elderly mother, who was found roaming the streets alone and confused and who had to be rehoused with other family members?