Marriage And Separation Advice

Divorce can be a long, stressful process for everyone involved. Even the tidiest of divorces can leave both separating spouses feeling angry, confused, insecure, and financially strained. While most divorces are reasonably peaceful, and a growing proportion of divorces are settled on by mutual agreement between the spouses without having to be resolved in court. In the minority of cases where a couple cannot agree to terms, the court must intervene and make a judgment for them. Any divorce that is granted through litigation will take longer, is generally more stressful, will probably be less satisfactory for both parties, and is invariably more expensive than divorces resolved through out of court settlement. On DivorceGuide.com, we provide an honest and accurate range of informational articles and advice on most aspects of divorce in the United States, and other Western countries.

During the past decade, the rate of divorces per marriage has grown to its present level that sees half of all marriages ultimately end in divorce. Surprisingly, the same proportion of marriages will last for at least fifteen years. The inevitable result of this statistic is that every year, a number of children are born into marriages that will dissolve before the children have become adults, involving them in the divorce process. DivorceGuide.com's advice is not motivated by the wishes of any partisan lobby group, and we will make no attempt to impose moral or religious ideals on our readers.

The presence of children in any divorce procedure instantly makes the process more complicated and places additional requirements on both parents. As mentioned, most divorces are conducted without litigation, which is generally considered to be in the best interests of any child. In a minority of cases, a child might be better off without the influence of one of his or her parents, particularly in cases of physical or emotional abuse, parental incompetence, or neglect. Of the divorces that are fought out in a court room, most involve child custody arrangements. Where parents do not reach a legal agreement between themselves on any of the terms of a divorce, including those of child custodial and visitation rights, the court must examine the family, the needs and wishes of the child, and any extenuating factors that would promote or preclude one parent from having custody, such as historical domestic violence, addictions, or parental unsuitability.

In most jurisdictions, the divorce process requires, at the very least, lodgment of additional forms with the court when children are involved. In some places, children preclude divorcing parents from accessing the most accelerated and simplified methods of obtaining a divorce. In most custody arrangements, one parent has a greater portion of custodial time than the other, and the non-custodial parent is obliged to pay the other parent child support to cover the costs of raising their child. Continue on to our section on child custody law and child support for more information.

We understand that often, divorce really is the most responsible option for all concerned, even where there are children involved. We take a closer look at the long term effects of divorce on children, and the top reasons why marriages fall apart, which usually includes communication breakdowns, infidelity, and strains caused by financial constraints or disputes.

We provide for all aspects of obtaining a divorce, and can be used as the starting point for your divorce proceedings. For more information, continue on to How to obtain a divorce where we run through the basic procedure, and provide you with each of the forms required to launch your divorce in the United States, the UK, and Australia. You can also search for free divorce papers, and find online repositories of divorce records and statistics.

For those more interested in divorces that have already occurred, we provide free advice for women and men who are trying to get on with their lives during the emotionally charged divorce process, and offer a few tips on how to get back into a working routine, if you find that yours is no longer working.

Here you can find all the information you need to approach divorce with an unbiased, informed idea of all that is involved in the divorce process, which usually lasts more than a year for most couples.

Here are additional resources you might be interested in:

Free Divorce Advice and Information on DivorceGuide.com

Divorce Information in the USA

Divorce Information in Australia

Divorce Information in the UK

Divorce Information in Canada

Information on Marriage and Separation Advice

Information on Children and Divorce

Information on Life After Divorce

Information on Divorce Glossary