Divorce Blame

Feb 11, 2013 by

Although someone usually gets blamed whenever a marriage fails, suing your local church congregation for your divorce is definitely an unusual circumstance. Whenever a divorce occurs, someone is likely to be blamed for causing it. That fact is simply human nature, and it is hard to imagine that no one would receive at least a small bit of blame and that everyone would be equally happy and completely guilt-free when a close personal relationship is finally and legally terminated. It is almost...

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A Broken Family Justice System

Aug 8, 2012 by

Several Ontario, Canada Chief Justices commenting on a report from the Law Commission of Ontario agree the family justice system in their jurisdiction left a lot to be desired and that massive changes are probably in order. Observations in the report referred to a “Broken Family Justice System” and included the fact that fine-tuning the system has been ineffective and that perhaps a totally new family law concept is required in the province. The current adversarial system of justice...

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Deafness and Divorce

Aug 8, 2012 by

Many different components of marital relationships have long been identified as potential sources of discord and eventual divorce, but a bit of surprising news recently published in the UK Telegraph newspaper shows that deafness can now be added to the list. According to a survey conducted by the British firm HearingDirect.com, a retailer of hearing aids and related products, ongoing deafness in a marriage that causes arguments between spouses can promote marital breakdown to the point of...

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A Lesson for Parents: Arguing in Front of Your Teens Has Lasting Impact

Aug 8, 2012 by

Exposure to family arguments during adolescence has a lasting impact on an individual’s mental health and functioning as an adult. The longitudinal study, published in the March edition of The Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, led by Simmons School of Social Work Professor Helen Reinherz, shows adolescents who reported increased arguments at age 15, compared with their peers, had an elevated risk of major depression, alcohol abuse/dependence, drug...

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More Tiger Woods Divorce Troubles

Aug 8, 2012 by

Ever since the financial experts at Forbes SportsMoney estimated Tiger Woods’ current total net worth to be below the $750 million settlement that estranged wife Elin Nordegren was rumored to be receiving, the Internet has been awash with speculation as to what is really going on with the couple’s divorce. But the real story could be a long time coming, as long as both agree to the terms of their negotiations, the couple can keep most of the details of their divorce out of the...

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Do You Really Need a Divorce Lawyer?

Aug 8, 2012 by

If you are considering divorce, it may pay to talk with a divorce lawyer first. It can give you valuable time to  explore your options and can decide if divorce really is the best your best option. A divorce lawyer can explain what filing for divorce really means, what the legal system requires, how long your divorce might take and what paperwork will be needed. Often, a failing or troubled marriage can stress you out and leave you depressed and angry. A divorce lawyer is someone who can...

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Children Coping with Divorce

Aug 8, 2012 by

A recent study reports that the coping skills of children of divorced parents can depend largely on how the parents react to the situation. Divorce affects children in many different ways and children typically experience varied feelings and emotions, but the feelings depend mostly on the nature of the child’s relationship with parents prior to the divorce, how arguments and disagreements were handled, and whether or not the parents took the child’s feelings into...

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Senator John Kerry Backs DOMA Lawsuit in Massachusetts

Aug 8, 2012 by

On July 9th, 2009, Senator John Kerry released a statement supporting Massachusetts’s court challenge of the Defense of Marriage Act.  Kerry is backing the lawsuit filed by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. Senator Kerry was the only Senator running for reelection who voted against the DOMA in 1996, and he has continued to rail against the DOMA since then.  â€œDenying same sex couples the same...

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Keeping Love Alive When Your Bank Account’s on Life Support

Aug 8, 2012 by

The potential for couples to argue about money is right up there with sex and housework, so today’s economic difficulties mean there may be plenty for couples to fight about. Marriage Educators tell us that there are skills you can learn to navigate rocky financial terrain while keeping your relationship — and your pocketbook — intact. For the past three years, the California Healthy Marriages Coalition (CHMC) has taught proven relationship-building skills to California...

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80% of Caregivers Report Strain on Their Marriages

Aug 8, 2012 by

Caring.com and the ‘marriage doctors’ share tips on how to keep love alive while caring for aging parents Eighty percent of baby boomers caring for an aging parent say that it has put a strain on their marriage. This insight is one of many garnered from a new research study conducted by Caring.com to measure the impact of caregiving on spousal relationships. The Caring.com study of baby boomers caring for aging parents uncovered the following: — 80% of baby boomers...

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Who Gets the House When No One Can Afford to Keep It? Keeping and Sharing the Home in a Divorce

Aug 8, 2012 by

The changes that families encounter while going through a divorce are troubling, and often times quite emotional. Deciding who will get to keep the house in a divorce settlement can be one of the toughest obstacles, especially when there is emotional attachment to the home by either spouse or the children. It is always best for the couple to come to a mutual decision about who will get to keep the house. Often times, the home serves as a settlement tool, where the couple will be satisfied with...

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N.Y. May Finally Get No-Fault Divorce

Aug 8, 2012 by

New York has been the lone hold-out among U.S. states allowing no-fault divorce. As the only state remaining without no-fault divorce on the books, New York has always required someone take the blame for a split even if both spouses have mutually agreed to the divorce.  One spouse or the other had to allege a fault such as cruel and inhuman treatment, adultery, abandonment, or the couple must have been legally separated for at least one year before they could file. Critics of the New York...

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FamilyLife Weekend for First Responders

Aug 8, 2012 by

Fire, police and EMT personnel in Stockton and Sacramento offered free event admission in appreciation for their service to the community FamilyLife, the leader in marriage conferences, presents Weekend to Remember in Stockton (Oct. 31 – Nov. 2) and Sacramento (Nov. 7 – 9 and Nov. 14 – 16). Weekend to Remember is a marriage conference aiming to strengthen healthy marriages and heal troubled ones in a fun, supportive and non-threatening environment. While every couple is...

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How Expensive Can a Divorce Get?

Aug 8, 2012 by

A Saudi prince is about to join the exclusive ranks of people with the most expensive divorce cases in history. Saudi Arabian royal family member Sheik Mohammed Al Fassi was held liable for $81 million in a 1983 divorce judgment awarded to then wife, Sheikha Dena Al Fassi (now known as Diana Bilinelli). The $81 million settlement may be a staggering amount, but it is not nearly enough to propel one into the ranks of the top five most expensive divorces of all time. Sheik Al Fassi’s...

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Unreality Check

Aug 8, 2012 by

A scientific study about to be published by a psychologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois has been making a bit of commotion in the news lately. It seems some people are not too happy with the findings that Daniel Molden, assistant professor of psychology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern, and his staff have concluded from an experiment to examine the differences between the ways dating couples and married couples view their respective significant...

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Advocating Children’s Rights

Aug 8, 2012 by

As the divorce rate in the United States continues to climb, so does the amount of damage to the most innocent members of the family, the children. Many of the legal issues and debates surrounding a divorce focus on the rights of the adults, and overlook what might be happening to vulnerable and confused children. Children are often put aside or ignored while the mechanics of a divorce, like who gets what, are worked out. When divorcing adults are distracted, it’s easy to forget the...

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Prenups are Serious Business

Aug 8, 2012 by

When the British Supreme Court upheld a decision last month in favor of heiress Katrin Radmacher it showed that divorce law in the U.K. was following U.S. laws in that legally recorded prenuptial agreements are binding. The move signaled that even wealthy women are likely to have their assets protected by courts in future. The case was of particular importance to British divorce lawyers who were following it to see just how much legal weight would be given to prenuptial agreements in that...

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Government, Marriage and Divorce

Aug 8, 2012 by

After President Barack Obama recently endorsed same-sex marriage it appears that changes to the nation’s laws will not be far behind as the inevitability of nationwide same-sex marriage is a almost a given at this point. The recent developments have caused some people to take notice of the fact that the level of government involvement with marriage and divorce may decrease in the future as our culture moves farther toward championing individual choice over traditional marriage...

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Divorce Contagion

Aug 8, 2012 by

A recent study from Brown University followed 12,000 people in Framingham, Massachusetts over a 32-year period beginning in 1948. The study has a very long name, and some very interesting observations about divorce in the United States. The study conducted by Rose McDermott of Brown University, James Fowler of University of California, San Diego and Nicholas Christakis of Harvard University is titled “Breaking Up is Hard to Do, Unless Everyone Else is Doing it Too: Social Network Effects...

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Update: Tiger Woods to Remain Celibate During Divorce

Aug 8, 2012 by

Recent reports have surfaced in the Chicago Sun Times and the New York Daily News indicating that Tiger Woods’ divorce is going anything but smoothly and wife Elin Nordegren seems to have upped her demands. In addition to pressure from his wife’s camp, now Woods’ own legal team has told him he can’t date until his divorce is finalized. Sources had previously said Elin would settle for $500 million and share joint custody of their two children with Woods. It was also...

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