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Legal Matters And Getting A Divorce
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.
Present-day courts, however, judge moms and dads equally, without automatically assuming that the mother is the best person to retain custody of the children. More men are now retaining custody and more women are having to pay child support and be happy with joint custody or visitation rights. They also must pay support for the children to their ex-husbands.
However, if the minor children are of an age to speak for themselves and determined to be of sound mind, judges will sometimes allow them to decide with what parent they would like to reside. This is especially the case with teenagers, as long as there are no accusations of abuse within the family. Teenagers wanting to stay at a certain school sometimes will be allowed to reside with the parent who lives close to the school and can continue their child's education at that place.
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.
Sometimes, however, the soon-to-be ex-spouses do not agree about who should get what amount of property and how it should be divided. Attorneys and appropriate courts must involve themselves and decide these issues.
Escaping an unhappy marriage and building a new life can be accomplished by getting a divorce. Yet, as marriage is viewed in legal terms as a binding contract between two parties, legal matters must be addressed before the union can be dissolved. People must file their case with their local court and their case must be heard by a judge. Issues like child custody and the division of marital property sometimes leads to disagreements that must be resolved by lawyers and the judge who presides over the case.
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.
Present-day courts, however, judge moms and dads equally, without automatically assuming that the mother is the best person to retain custody of the children. More men are now retaining custody and more women are having to pay child support and be happy with joint custody or visitation rights. They also must pay support for the children to their ex-husbands.
However, if the minor children are of an age to speak for themselves and determined to be of sound mind, judges will sometimes allow them to decide with what parent they would like to reside. This is especially the case with teenagers, as long as there are no accusations of abuse within the family. Teenagers wanting to stay at a certain school sometimes will be allowed to reside with the parent who lives close to the school and can continue their child's education at that place.
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.
Sometimes, however, the soon-to-be ex-spouses do not agree about who should get what amount of property and how it should be divided. Attorneys and appropriate courts must involve themselves and decide these issues.
Escaping an unhappy marriage and building a new life can be accomplished by getting a divorce. Yet, as marriage is viewed in legal terms as a binding contract between two parties, legal matters must be addressed before the union can be dissolved. People must file their case with their local court and their case must be heard by a judge. Issues like child custody and the division of marital property sometimes leads to disagreements that must be resolved by lawyers and the judge who presides over the case.
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