Splitting nuclear family to care for old parent(s)

There is lot of talk about doing away with joint family. Let's talk about splitting the nuclear family.

An old parent or in-law needs care, and such care spans years, requiring the nuclear family to split - husband and wife live away from each other, children spend formative years with only parent physically present in the home.

What is the impact of such living on the husband-wife relationship? The sacrifice deepens the bond or does the distance weaken the relationship?

How about the little children? Is it fair to them to live away from one parent? When they understand why that happened, will it be a lesson in good values for them or will they learn that one's duty as a parent comes second to one's duty as a child?

I've seen such cases in my friend circle. The parent living in the U.S. handled the child's high school years and college admission time like a single parent, while spouse took company transfer to care for old ailing parent in India.

No easy choices.

Your thoughts? Is splitting the nuclear family sometimes worth it?

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Splitting nuclear family to care for old parent(s)