It is the most universally feared event. Watching a marriage collapse is watching a slow-moving car crash of intimacy, where the people who knew each other best become the most effective torturers.
Here are three technical pillars for writing complex family relationships:
Stories often kick off when a patriarch or matriarch falls, forcing siblings to fight for control or identity (e.g., Succession ).
"I remember when you two used to build forts in those woods," Elias whispered, his voice fragile. "You never fought about who owned the trees back then."