Remarriage can bring about changes in many aspects of family life, including child custody arrangements. When parents decide to remarry, it can also raise questions and concerns about how this new dynamic will impact their children’s living arrangements and relationships. Understanding how remarriage affects child custody is important for parents navigating this new chapter in their lives. Open communication Parents need to talk to each other when one of them decides to remarry. Discussing how a new marriage will affect the custody arrangements can help everyone adjust and know what to expect ..read more

Once upon a time, it was common for people to marry very young. They also started families very young compared to most people today. Yet, in those times, divorce was relatively rare, and couples that married young tended to stay married for life. Then things changed, and the advice became that you should not marry too young and that people should wait to marry until they are mature enough to make such a big decision and to know the other person is the right one for them. The figures back this up – those who marry at 25 are 50% less likely to divorce than those who marry aged 20. Yet the statis ..read more

Typically, debt that you acquired as a couple during a divorce is split, just as assets are. These include debts like credit card balances, mortgages, car loans and other debts accrued during the marriage. You can divide these debts, collectively known as marital debts, in several ways. First, you may follow California community property laws, which require these debts to be divided equally. Alternatively, you can agree to divide marital debts differently than the equal division required by California law or follow through with a binding agreement like a prenup. Creditors are not bound by a di ..read more

Wealth and divorce often go hand-in-hand. But that doesn’t mean that they work the same way in every relationship. If you’re moving toward a divorce, the role that financial assets play could be very different than it will be for someone else. For example, wealth can make divorce more likely for some people and less likely for others. Let’s take a quick look at this interesting relationship. Financial stress In some cases, wealth could make divorce less likely if that divorce would otherwise have been due to financial stress. For instance, maybe one spouse can’t hold down a job and the family ..read more

If you are considering divorce, you may be pondering on what you have heard or read about it. Divorce features in so many articles, movies, and person-to-person conversations that it can be hard to separate the truth from fiction. Here are three of the most frequently propagated falsities you may hear: It has to be confrontational Courts have realized that it is usually better to try and keep a divorce as simple and amicable as possible. They would rather couples come to them with suggestions on how to move forward than come to them complaining about the other person. There is certainly still ..read more

California law allows a number of types of alimony. Most of these are temporary to allow the lesser-  or non-earning spouse a chance to acquire the experience, skills, connections and/or education they need to become self-supporting after divorce.  There’s also a permanent alimony option that can be sought if a spouse can’t be expected to return to the workplace (for example, because of their age or health). It can also be used when there’s a significant difference in income and assets between the divorcing spouses. These types of alimony are typically paid monthly and end if the pay ..read more

Traditionally, divorce has been viewed as an adversarial process where each spouse is pitted against one another. However, the truth is that this does not benefit anyone. Generally, the more that conflict can be reduced between spouses, the better the outcome for both parties in the divorce. Of course, reducing conflict may not be easy, especially if there were arguments during the marriage, but it is possible. Outlined below are a few things to keep in mind. Take a “business-like” approach Divorce is a legal process and the court generally doesn’t want to get involved in personal squabbles, u ..read more

Divorce can be hard on all family members, especially children. Amid emotional turmoil, parents may unintentionally place their children in the difficult position of feeling they have to choose sides. Recognizing and avoiding such unintentional pressure can foster a healthy and supportive environment for children. Communication breakdowns One common pitfall is a breakdown in communication between parents. When parents only communicate through their children, it can inadvertently force kids to act as messengers or go-betweens. This places an undue burden on them and makes them feel like they ha ..read more

Service with divorce paperwork may lead to angry confrontations between spouses in some households. Other times, one spouse may seem to ignore the documents sent by the other. Despite serving someone in accordance with California state requirements, some people pursuing divorce in California do not receive a timely response from their spouses. They may then worry that the courts might refuse to move forward with the divorce process due to the lack of input from their spouse. Thankfully, the law in California does not allow one person to arbitrarily block divorce proceedings. People can request ..read more

Retirement accounts are an essential part of marital assets. These accounts typically have to be divided as part of the property division process if the couple goes through a divorce.  Several factors determine exactly how these retirement accounts are handled during the divorce.  Comparable retirement accounts If each party has retirement accounts of comparable value, it’s usual to consider these assets in the overall division of property. If the values are similar and both parties agree, they might each keep their accounts. This approach simplifies things, but it’s crucial to ensur ..read more