6/7/11

Divorce And The Surrounding Legal Issues

By Adriana Noton


When a marriage fails to survive, people often consider getting a divorce. Because marriage is a legal contract between two people in addition to being a committed form of relationship, certain legal matters must be addressed when individuals seek to dissolve their union. Determining who gets what portion of the marital assets and which parent will be awarded custody of the couple's children prove to be matters that often must be resolved by lawyers and a judge.

In fact, child custody sometimes stands out as the most contentious matter to be resolved by divorcing couples. In years prior, most judged automatically gave guardianship to the mother, with fathers being awarded visitation rights. Fathers also typically had to pay a required amount of child support each month to his ex-wife.

In recent times, however, judges have been more discriminate about determining where children will live after the dissolution of the marriage. Moms and dads are considered in equal footing with each other when it comes to child custody petitions. Women are no longer automatically determined to be the most nurturing party and husbands are often awarded joint or sole custody of his kids. The ex-wives must then pay their ex-husbands monthly sums of support.

If abuse is not an issue in the divorce and children are determined as being in good emotional health, they may often be called upon by the judge and asked with which parent they would like to live. This is the case with teenagers, especially, who want to stay in the same school that they attend. They often will remain with the parent who will keep the marital home or remain in the same area that allows that child to stay with his or her school and friends.

Whichever parent does not retain custody often has to pay a monthly sum of child support. That amount is often determined based on that person's earnings, with approximately one-quarter to one-third of the monthly income going to his or her children's support.

Likewise, a couple who is being divorced must divide their marital assets between each other. Assets that were gained prior to marriage are not eligible to be divided, but real estate, life insurance, pensions, stocks, and bank accounts, among other things, that were jointly held during the marriage often must be divided equally between the two parties.

However, sometimes couples disagree about what property should be divided and what amount should be given to each person. Lawyers and judges sometimes need to step in and resolve these disputes.

Getting a divorce can help people escape an unhappy marriage and lets both the wife and husband build new lives. However, because marriage has legal implications, divorcing cannot be accomplished without both people filing court documents and their union being dissolved by a judge. Legal matters like who gets the kids and who gets what portion of the marital belongings on occasion leads to contentious arguments that require skilled attorneys and the courts to decide.




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