One of the world’s foremost philanthropists, Melinda French Gates has announced that she’s stepping down as co-chair of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. French Gates has helped lead the $75 billion organization since its founding nearly 25 years ago. “I am immensely proud of the foundation Bill and I built together and the work it is doing to address inequities around the world,” French Gates said on social media. She expressed confidence in the foundation’s leadership and ongoing mission but said, “The time is right for me to move forward into the next chapter of my philanthropy.” “Meli ..read more

On the hit TV show Modern Family, Gloria is a thirty-something woman married to Jay, a significantly older man. Gloria brought her young child into the marriage and then had another baby with Jay, who already had grown children with spouses and kids of their own. On the show, the couple—Jay especially—often seemed hilariously but happily overwhelmed by the antics of their somewhat unconventional, ever-growing, and always zany brood. But in real life, roles were somewhat reversed for Sophia Vergara, the actress who played Gloria. Recently, Vergara, 51, opened up in the media about her split fro ..read more

People get married with the best intentions—believing in the strength of their bond and the durability of their relationship. They enter into marriage with hope, love, and excitement. They want and expect it to last forever. Naturally, the wedding industry wants couples to believe that a wedding, and everything that surrounds it, symbolizes their love—therefore, the bigger and more lavish, the better, right? And in today’s super-saturated, image-inundated social media environment, there’s an infinite supply of glowing couples having “Insta-perfect” engagements, showers, weddings, and honeymoon ..read more

Every marriage is unique and there are multifaceted factors that lead to divorce. “There’s usually more than one reason a couple gets divorced,” says DivorceNet, “and those reasons are often intertwined. For example, people are more likely to have extramarital affairs when they’re experiencing other problems in their marriage, and communication problems exacerbate issues like money disputes.” Researchers have long been interested in what causes marriages to break up. In numerous studies over the last several decades, which have directly asked divorced couples what drove them apart, similar mar ..read more

It’s no secret that the Golden State is a costly place to live. California home values and rents are among the highest in the nation, and housing costs have soared over the last few years. “Divorced and separated couples are facing their worst nightmare: sharing a house with the person they want to get away from,” the Wall Street Journal reported near the end of last year. “Behind the uneasy arrangement is the housing market. Mortgage rates are over 7%, and home prices have hit record highs.” And, says WSJ, “Some people on the brink of divorce are pulling back from actually filing because of u ..read more

It’s hard to remember when social media wasn’t part of daily life—when we didn’t post, scroll, pin, swipe, like, and friend. The most recent data from the Pew Research Center—released in January of this year, based on a survey of 5,733 U.S. adults conducted between May and September of last year–found that most U.S. adults report engaging with some form of social media. 83% use YouTube, 68% are on Facebook, and 47% use Instagram. Despite the controversy, TikTok’s use is growing by over 30 %, and between 27-35% use other platforms such as Snapchat, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn; one in five use Twitte ..read more

In a recent article for Today.com, essayist Heather Sweeney wrote, “Divorce is having a moment”— but she wishes it had come a decade ago when she was contemplating and then going through her divorce. Even ten years back, Sweeney says, “shame and stigma” still caused people to keep quiet about their marital troubles and the decision to split. Sweeney and her ex tried three rounds of counseling before calling it quits. When she finally realized she had to end the marriage, she went through the whole gamut of emotions: anger, sadness, fear, resentment, and guilt. And she felt very alone. When peo ..read more

Debra Schoenberg, founder of Schoenberg Family Law Group, has been recognized on the Daily Journal’s list of Top Family Lawyers for an impressive third year in a row. Over her 38-year career, Ms. Schoenberg has found deep fulfillment in guiding clients through challenging family law matters and witnessing the strength of those she represents. She is passionate about training the next generation of lawyers and finds her work incredibly meaningful, helping clients navigate divorce and build healthy families. As the definition of family continues to evolve, Ms. Schoenberg looks forward to her nex ..read more

Social media is ingrained in our lives. We use it to keep up with friends and show off our great outfits, beautiful brunches, or blooming gardens. We post about how great our holiday party or vacation was, celebrate achievements at work, and say how proud we are of our children. Most of us hardly think twice about sharing details of our many-faceted personal lives on social media, in both words and pictures. But when you’re going through a divorce, it’s crucial to not only think twice but completely rethink and revamp your relationship with social media. California is a no-fault divorce state ..read more

No one will say it’s easy. Learning to co-parent with your ex is one of the most challenging parts of divorce when you have a family. There’s no foolproof roadmap, no one-size-fits-all solution. You won’t always get it right, especially in the beginning when the emotional temperature is likely running high. But it’s important to be aware of one major co-parenting pitfall that can be especially harmful to children—competitive co-parenting. Research has shown that intense or ongoing conflict between parents harms children. “It is not the divorce itself but rather the toxicity that can stem from ..read more