Reasons for Divorcing

The following article contains information taken from a National Poll siting the reasons why couples want to divorce. Its interesting to see the differences between the reasons men divorce and the reasons women divorce.

http://sev.prnewswire.com/multimedia-online-internet/20080109/CLW06609012008-1.html

Is Your Marriage Broken?

I have written before on this blog about the difference between the emotional divorce and the legal divorce and how many times they are separate and apart from one another. Because Florida is a no fault state, a couple need only show that their marriage is irretrievably broken and that one or both of the parties has been a resident of the state of Florida for the six months prior to the date of filing. Generally speaking if one party doesn't believe that the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court may order counseling or possibly continue the divorce proceeding for a maximum of three months to enable the parties to reconcile. This allows the parties time to reconcile, or in some cases allows time to insure that the marriage is indeed broken. If you believe that your marriage can be saved, and your spouse has already filed for divorce, upon your statement that the marriage is not broken, the court may order that you obtain marriage counseling which could provide you with some time to determine whether your marriage is indeed irretrievably broken.

Should You Stick It Out?

The week after Christmas is historically a very busy year for divorce attorneys as people have gotten their families through the holidays and decide that there is no time like the present to get out of a bad marriage. I've read many articles about how too many couples are throwing in the marriage towel too soon and how more couples should try sticking it out. How do you know if your marriage is worth saving? Unfortunately, as an attorney and not a trained marriage counselor, I don't have an answer to that question. Although, from my experience, once someone has made the decision to seek the counsel of a divorce attorney, the wheels of progress are not often reversed. Knowing when it's "truly over" is trickier than it looks. In The Case for Marriage, Americans Linda J Waite and Maggie Gallagher (Doubleday 2000), quote from the American National Survey of Families and Households in which 86% of unhappily married couples who "stuck it out" found that five years later their marriages were "happier". Only 15% of those who initially said they were unhappily married continued to say their marriages were very unhappy. Whether to stick it out is a personal decision that should not be made lightly.

Government Helping to Stop Rate of Divorce

Divorce continues to remain prominent in our American society and there are some government officials who are thinking of ways to try to curb the rate of divorce. In Mississippi, discouraging divorce is what is high on his agenda list for Lt. Gov.-elect Phil Bryant. To read the story about what Mr. Bryant is attempting to do in order to try to save marriages, see the following:

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080105/NEWS/801050360/1001/news

Britney's First Meltdown of 2008

It seems that Britney Spears is again making headlines with a standoff concerning visitation and her refusal to return her children to their father. Yesterday I made some predictions about Hollywood divorces that would continue to make headlines in 2008, and has promised Ms. Spears has not disappointed. To read about Britney Spear's latest antics, see the following:

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/betterthanrehab/archives/128794.asp?source=mypi

2008 Predictions

In light of the new year, I thought it would be fun to acknowledge some Hollywood divorce headlines which are most likely to endure through 2008 and into 2009.

BRITNEY SPEARS AND KEVIN FEDERLINE- It seems that Britney has recently fired her current attorneys, and its likely that her deposition will be taken early on in 2008. However, since she still has supervised visitations, and her life still seems to be on the verge of total disaster, its unlikely that her custody battle will come to an ultimate conclusion in 2008. The amount of publicity that this litigation will get is unlimited.

HEATHER MILLS MCCARTNEY AND PAUL MCCARTNEY- This case has been pending for a long time, and with the latest firing of attorneys and public slandering of Paul McCartney by Heather Mills, an end to this bitter divorce is not likely in 2008 without some major movement to be reasonable by Ms. Mills.

DENISE RICHARDS AND CHARLIE SHEEN- I would be surprised if this celebrity custody battle ended in 2008. This couple has been battling over their children since before their second daughter was even born. It seems unlikely that they will be able to work out their differences and I predict at least 3 headlines concerning this matter in 2008.

KIM BASINGER AND ALEC BALDWIN- They divorced over five years ago, yet their battle over their 11 year old daughter seems to persist. I predict that their battles will continue until their daughter reaches the age of eighteen. Why settle and move on after five years when you can fight an argue your kid's childhood away??

Let's hope that some of the newest celebrity couple break-ups do not have the enduring power of those listed above.

New Year, New Blog, Same Stories

It has been exactly one year since I posted my first blog here on this blogspot. In 2007, I provided readers with over 300 different blogs on various issues that arise in family law matters from child custody to protecting assets in divorce. Over the past few months I have seen an increase in the amount of traffic that this site gets, and have also seen more and more people posting their comments on the different things that I have written about. I hope to continue to provide my readers, new and old, more information and insight into all things family law in 2008. Thank you for your continued interest and feel free to forward me any stories or interesting sites you may come across on family law and divorce. Happy New Year to you all!!!