Children often have it rough when their parents divorce, but grown up "kids" may have it even rougher reports Reuters.

Adult offspring whose parents split up later in life face the usual and expected psychological issues: "They may feel like 'everything I thought was real, isn't,'" says Diana Mercer, an attorney-mediator and author of several books on divorce.  But they also face a series of financial challenges that their cohort with married parents don't have to deal with, Mercer said. Young adult children of divorce may find their college fund ravaged; they may see their family home fall into the hands of Dad's new girlfriend or Mom's new guy. They may feel financially responsible for their parents at an early age, and have to care for single aging parents who won't take care of each other.

And, they may leave their own finances untended. So-called ACODs (Adult Children of Divorce) often exhibit a failure to launch, says Mercer, co-author with Katie Jan Wennechuk of "Making Divorce Work: 8 Essential Keys to Resolving Conflict and Rebuilding Your Life" (Penguin/Perigee 2010). They may fail to complete their education, line up "grown-up" jobs, or feed their own savings.