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Marriage is not always as easy as we hope going into it. Sometimes it is difficult and becomes a struggle to make it from one day to the next. Yet, in many marriages, it is made even more challenging if the spouse is abusive. This also makes a divorce much more troublesome. In many cases, the abused spouse is in fear; fear for their life following the presentation of divorce papers, fear for the future of how they will get by on their own, and also fear for the impact on any children involved. A dissolution of marriage involving an abusive partner can strike anxiety in even the strongest of people, yet it is extremely possible and will make a positive impact in your future.

Adopting a stepchild can be an emotionally charged situation. Deciding what is best for the child or children can prove to be a difficult task. On one hand, a non-custodial biological parent may be in communication with the child, and may not want to relinquish their parental rights. However, a stepparent adoption may create a more stable environment for the child, which would prove to be a better choice. Yet, a stepparent and a non-custodial biological parent may still both have loyalties of the child, and that may create a source of confusion and frustration. Generally speaking, the less involved a biological parent is, the easier the decision will be. Ultimately, it is something that will need to be decided by all parties involved.

Divorce is not a term many newly engaged couples want to think about. Most couples go into marriage believing it is forever. Even in the traditional vows, you state until “death do us part.” However, the numbers are in and the statistics show that not all marriages last forever as much as we would like them to. In a large number of those marriages, the two individuals are making two different amounts of income. For others, both parties have substantial assets. This is where a prenuptial or a postnuptial agreement may be a wise financial decision. In the event of a divorce without an agreement, the state of California defines what will happen between the separating parties. This agreement will allow you to dictate your own terms for your hard earned money.

For people around the world, New Year’s Day marks a fresh beginning and the start of a brighter future. The holidays bring about a feeling of family and togetherness, resulting in innumerable proposals on Christmas Eve—the number one holiday for proposals. For many more, the New Year’s Eve celebration is the perfect time to start a future together. No matter when your significant other accepted, after all of the fireworks and the celebrating has subsided, many same sex unions are left wondering, “What is next for us?”

The divorce of one’s parents is never easy, even if the parents are able to maintain a friendly relationship and the divorce goes smoothly. It is important to create and implement good co-parenting strategies to help preserve a sense of stability for the children. The holidays are an especially important time; they should be a joyful time, but are often fraught with familial disputes and stress.

With the summertime hacking scandal, and now a lawsuit from a disgruntled user claiming that the website was fraudulent in its use of fembots to attract new users, cheating website Ashley Madison has been in the news a lot recently. Adultery is all too common and can have devastating effects on marriages and families. If you or your spouse has had an extramarital affair, it is essential to understand the impact that can have on a divorce in California.

In California, the law differentiates between community property and separate property when it comes to the division of marital assets. Deciding what qualifies as community property can be difficult, especially if a couple was separated for a long period of time before divorcing, or if one spouse did not immediately move out of a shared residence. A recent court decision has clarified some ambiguities in the relevant statutory language that will help streamline the division of property in California divorce proceedings.

In 2011, responding to concerns about the high number of minor children whose parents were serving prison sentences, California lawmakers instituted the Alternative Custody Program (ACP) to help foster family reunification. The program provides alternative custody arrangements for inmates who have dependent children. It allows eligible inmates to spend the last two years of their sentence outside of the prison in closer proximity to their children. A California District Court broadened the reach of the program even further in a recently decided case.

Since 1969, California has had a no-fault divorce law, which allows a spouse to file for divorce without alleging wrongdoing on the other spouse’s part. Under the law, couples in California may divorce based on either irreconcilable differences or incurable insanity. California’s law was the first no-fault law in the nation. Since it was passed, every other state has also introduced no-fault provisions, and many have also abolished fault-based divorce.

Property division in a California divorce is dependent on whether the property is characterized as community or separate property. Community property is property owned jointly by both spouses or domestic partners, while separate property is owned by only one spouse or domestic partner. In a divorce or legal separation, community property will be subject to division, but separate property will not.