The question of who among us has the right to marry has been a controversial issue throughout recent history.  The United States has restricted the right to marry based on age, race, and gender. In most states, minors are prohibited from marrying without their parent’s legal consent. States have also prohibited marriages between relatives.  This […]

Getting married is easy. Getting divorced is hard. Thankfully, mediation has made the process of divorce much less stressful and costly than litigating a divorce in court. According to the Civil Mediation Council, 75-80% of cases settle on the day of the mediation itself, and another 10-15% settle shortly after. Mediation has grown in popularity over […]

Contested Or Non-Contested Divorce. Fault Or No-Fault Based Divorce. In almost all states, spouses have a choice to file a no-fault or fault-based divorce. In addition, both of these types of divorce can be contested or uncontested. What does this mean? Mostly, it means that before you file for divorce, you should carefully consider whether […]

If you believed in good faith that your marriage was legally valid, you would likely be treated as a “putative spouse.” The Putative Spouse A putative spouse is someone who has cohabited with another to whom they are not legally married in the good faith belief that they were married to that person. A putative […]

Most divorces are painful, but it hurts even more when your children vilify you to make your ex happy despite all your parenting efforts. You cannot pinpoint what you have done to deserve such fear and hatred. But the animosity feels familiar – you have seen it in your former spouse. This is what parental […]

What This Article Covers: This article covers the character and types of property subject to division between spouses in divorce proceedings. The two major legal categories that govern the division of property in divorce are Separate Property and Community Property, also referred to as marital property. We will first cover the legal difference between community […]

Spousal support, sometimes called spousal maintenance, will be found in the court’s dissolution order. One spouse will be ordered to pay the other support. The purpose is to ensure the non-paying spouse can maintain a quality of life similar to when the partners were married. Determining Alimony (Spousal Support)  Alimony, also known as spousal support, […]

The adoption process forms a legally recognized parent-child relationship between a child and adopting non-biological parents. This article will help provide information on fundamental questions concerning child adoption. Will my child know about her adoption?  In most states, no. If you adopt a child, they will not know who the birth parents are. But some states allow children […]

There are a variety of criminal defenses that may allow a defendant to avoid legal responsibility for their criminal actions. This article spotlights some of the most common affirmative and mitigating defenses to crimes, such as self-defense, duress-coercion, heat of passion, diminished capacity, insanity, and temporary insanity. Understanding Criminal Defenses Presumption of Innocence Under the law, […]

In marriage, we go from our single identity personhood to a combined identity. On just one ceremonial day, vows get exchanged, and we are in union with another soul.  In living together, a close and enduring partnership can also notice a slow but steady merging of individual identities.  But things can and do change, and […]