Southern California Family Law Blog

For California parents who share custody with an ex-spouse or partner who they fear may be dangerous to the children, handing off the children can be a difficult event. However, there are some steps that a parent who fears for his or her child's safety can take.

Most importantly, parents should advise the court that the other parent has a history of violence or has physically or emotionally abused the children in the past. Judges may look into the allegations before granting custody. If it appears that the children may be at risk for harm, the judge may order supervised visitation.

Money can present problems with any marriage in California. But financial issues tend to be more front-and-center when one or both spouses is marrying again, a situation more common among older couples. In fact, two-thirds of previously married people between the ages of 55 and 64 have tied the knot again.

With a remarriage, it's common for a spouse entering into a new union to have more assets then they had when they first walked down the aisle. There's also the possibility of additional emotional and financial complications because of fully grown or near-adult children from a prior relationship. A strong, well-prepared prenuptial agreement could be an effective way for a remarrying spouse to divide their assets as they see fit.

When California couples are planning their weddings, the farthest thing from their minds is divorce. They are usually focused on creating a special day that will be remembered by all who attend. However, according to a new study from the University of Melbourne, the actual wedding date might be a factor in predicting the chances of divorce.

Researchers from the University found that some special dates seem to be connected to higher divorce percentages over time. Valentine's Day, for example, which is a popular date for wedding celebrations, is one of those dates. Researchers, who analyzed data for a million married couples, found that 11% of couples married on Feb. 14 were divorced within five years. The rate increased over time with 21% divorcing within nine years. Other specific dates, such as Sept. 9, 1999, which would be written as 9/9/99, also had higher divorce rates over time. The reason, some speculate, is because couples looking for cute dates might be more concerned with planning the perfect wedding celebration and less concerned with working toward a healthy, stable marriage.

Women in California who are considering divorce should first gather some financial documents. Having information means being prepared, and this will be important when heading into a divorce. First, a wife should get copies of her tax returns for the past three years. This will show the couple's income.

Next, she should get as much information as possible about her spending habits. Three years of bank and credit card statements can help in reviewing expenses. There are online software programs that can be linked to accounts and assist in categorizing this information as well. This will be important when moving into the next stage, which is creating a lifestyle analysis. A lifestyle analysis takes a realistic look at all expenditures and predicts expenses for after the divorce. A financial professional may be able to help with some of these calculations. The analysis should be as accurate as possible, keeping in mind that the low inflation rate does not account for large cost increases in some areas, such as health care.