Child custody can be contentious in any case. However, it can be more complicated in cases involving military personnel because of the uncertainty surrounding future deployments overseas or assignments that are stateside. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides protections for military personnel related to legal cases filed against them.

Protective Provisions

Divorce stresses you mentally, emotionally, and often physically. You are tired of the conflict, and just want the process over. In divorce as in life generally, it is wise to pick your battles. Knowing what to give up and what to fight for during the divorce proceedings is crucial for getting through this difficult time. Think long-term rather than short-term when making your choices.

Mental health issues are widespread nowadays and have been discovered to be a leading cause of divorce.
Not surprisingly, individuals suffering from depression, PTSD, or addiction issues have the greatest probability of separating from their spouse. Unfortunately, obtaining a divorce and dealing with a mental illness can be difficult as symptoms often become worse under stressful conditions. Individuals suffering from mental illnesses may become more defensive or anxious, cause frequent outbursts, or be generally uncooperative. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to alleviate the stress that can come from a toxic divorce.

Before considering to date someone while a divorce is still being finalized or has not had the paperwork completed may risk negative consequences. There are often possible legal ramifications to understand that could cause a negative impact on the individual that does date another person when going through a divorce. These issues could affect the divorcing partner and the other dating him or her.

Abandonment: A Divorce Issue

In high conflict divorces, those that never seem to end, abandonment is a common factor.
These days, when we see divorced spouses returning to court two or more years after the divorce process was technically completed, we inquire into their early childhood experiences, and we frequently find abandonment trauma in their family histories.
The most obvious form of abandonment is when a parent deserts the family, but it can also be the result of a parent dying when a child is young. Sometimes the effect of a parent being ill and away at hospitals or just not able to invest adequate time and energy into parent/child interactions is perceived by the child as abandonment. It can even be one consequence of parental drug or alcohol abuse. A substance-impaired parent is not emotionally available, and to a child that can feel like abandonment. Not surprisingly, many adopted children have feelings of abandonment.

When spouses are not living together, it can be difficult to determine which spouse is legally responsible to pay debts. The timing of when the debt was incurred, the nature of the debt and state law are important considerations in this assessment.

Necessaries Doctrine

At common law, the spouse – typically the husband – was legally liable for the support of the other spouse. This right could be enforced on the spouse, either by the other spouse or by third-party creditors. Today, some states have established statutes that require a spouse to be responsible for necessary or family expenses, even in the absence of an express agreement to pay such a debt.

Divorce is often a contentious experience in which formerly intimate spouses are now adversaries. With this dynamic, spouses may start to hide information or take part in activities that may threaten the well-being of the family. Private investigators are sometimes retained to assist in divorce cases for a number of reasons.

Evidence of Adultery or Misconduct

A private investigator can investigate if a spouse is committing adultery or other types of marital misconduct. Every state has no-fault divorce laws that do not require the evidence of wrongdoing in order to grant a divorce. However, marital misconduct is sometimes relevant for proceedings involving spousal support in states in which support is barred if one party’s conduct led to the demise of the marriage. Additionally, marital misconduct may also help provide more favorable terms for a spouse under a prenuptial agreement.

Family courts around the country recognize that spouses own some property that is separate from what they accumulated as a marital couple. Those assets that comprise the marital estate are subject to division at the time of divorce while separate property is generally excluded from a divorce award.

Premarital Property

The property that a person brought into the marriage is usually off-limits to the other spouse. However, this can change if the old property has comingled with marital property. For example, a bank account can become comingled property if the other spouse was added to the account or funds were used from the account that make transactions indistinguishable between separate transactions and marital transactions.

The Supreme Court has acknowledged the validity of same sex marriage throughout the country. Of course, after parties get married, some of those parties decide to divorce. However, not all divorces are treated equally, because some of the doctrines surrounding divorce have traditionally been applied only to long standing heterosexual marriages.

For example, one of the grounds often asserted to obtain a divorce is that of adultery. However, adultery has traditionally been given a limited and narrow definition, involving vaginal intercourse between a married person and someone other than his or her spouse. Because of this limited definition of adultery, typically interpreted to apply to sexual intercourse between a man and a woman, by definition it is technically not applicable to infidelity in a same – sex relationship. As a result, this limited definition may deprive same sex couples of this ground for absolute divorce. It would be appropriate for the legislature to consider expanding the definition to be applicable to physical relationships between persons of the same sex.

Drafting settlement and separation agreements is an important part of any family law practice because only fifteen-percent of divorce cases eventually go to trial.

Written settlement proposals can be exchanged at any time. They, like interrogatories, may help determine if an agreement can be reached now or in the future. Obviously, you need your client’s direct input and authority when drafting a settlement proposal and it is absolutely vital that they review and approve the proposal. Many times, the first settlement proposal will be quite broad, while subse quent iterations can pin down the details of the agreement.

In some, sad divorce cases, when parents continue to quarrel, long after the divorce papers have been signed, the Court is required to appoint a lawyer for the children. That lawyer is called a Guardian ad Litem. That lawyer conducts a thorough investigation and reports to the Court.

In a recent case the Guardian filed a report which seemed to touch the parents when all other efforts had failed. The report should be shared, and I share it, in part, with you:

When a person receives an order in a divorce case, this order is backed up by the power of the court. If a spouse refuses to comply with the instructions included in the court order, there are usually ways to compel the spouse to follow the judge’s instructions.

Sometimes divorce is finally filed after years of separation and is well anticipated. In other cases, it comes as a complete surprise to the person receiving paperwork. After receiving divorce papers, individuals must take immediate action to protect their legal rights and future.

There are a few legal requirements which must be met to file for a divorce in most states.
Under most state laws, a divorce (or "dissolution") action must be filed and decided in court. Many states have a "no-fault divorce" policy. In other words, these courts are not concerned about which spouse was wrong or guilty of marital misconduct.
There are a few legal requirements which must be met to file for a divorce in most states:

Trying to spy on your spouse should never be done. With the changes made to Florida law including cyber stalking, spying is against the law. This type of action can be considered criminal. Refer to the Florida Statues 784.048.
If your spouse has posted information on a social media site like Facebook or Twitter, that's different. The information is no longer considered private. Because these are public forums, the otherwise personal information has been put on display for any member of the public.

Pregnancy can be a time of great joy for couples, but it can also be a time of tremendous stress. What happens if a couple gets a divorce (or is in the process of divorcing) while the wife is pregnant? There are many unique legal issues raised under these precarious circumstances.

We marry dreaming of "happily-ever-after." But sadly, 25% of all women in the US (and a significant % of men) find themselves in an abusive marriage or partnership. And when that occurs, most are in denial.
Homelife: Shattered Dreams.
It's hard to admit, and take action, when abuse happens. Why? It's difficult to believe we lovingly chose someone who could hurt us in so many unforeseen ways. We think abuse is something that happens to others. And, since it usually happens so gradually, we question its reality. There is no billboard announcing: "You now are in a domestic violence situation".
Simply put, abuse is about power and control, and generally the perpetrator is very cunning. Abuse happens in many obvious ways, such as yelling, threats, verbal put-downs, and bodily harm. It also happens in subtle ways such as stonewalling and withholding money. It may only happen behind closed doors, which creates an additional challenge -- especially if the abuser is a successful, charismatic figure (think Bill Cosby).

The military's divorce rate dropped again last year reaching its lowest point since 2005, according to statistics released today by the Defense Department.
The divorce rate among both officer and enlisted men and women over 2014 was 3.1 percent, Pentagon officials said, only slightly higher than the 2005 rate of 3 percent. The newly released statistics show how the rate has steadily declined since 2011, when it reached a high water mark of 3.7 percent. The rate in 2001, at the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was 2.6 percent.
"The health and well-being of service members and their families is a priority," said Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a Pentagon spokesman. "Strong relationships are important to our readiness."
The declining rate is largely due to a major drop in the divorce rate among married female troops. The divorce rate among male service members dropped only .3 percent over last year and only .5 percent since 2011.
But the rate among females has seen a major, steady decline over that period. Since 2011 the female divorce rate has moved steadily downward from 8 percent among both officer and enlisted to 6.5 percent last year.