Divorce

Many people think infidelity is the main reason people get divorced -
it's not.  MONEY problems are the number one reason. Simply stated,
Divorce is most often caused by financial strain. 

Divorce is a very difficult process for most people. Breaking up
disrupts one's life in almost every possible area.  During the Divorce
process, once again, MONEY is the central issue and can include such
issues as division of debts and assets, restraining orders, alimony and
appraisal of property, just to name a few.

Where children are involved, an additional set of MONEY related issues
arise which include child support, child custody, visitation schedules,
health insurance, medical bills and orthodontics.

With so many financial issues surrounding a Divorce case, it is
important to keep in mind that sometimes, even though it will not bring
the parties back together, a Divorcing couple can diminish their debt
load by cooperating on filing a bankruptcy case.

Usually, in Divorce cases where children are involved, the parties will
utilize the "Friend of the Court" system. This "Friend of the Court" is
not your friend, but rather, the Court’s friend.  Friend of the Court
makes recommendations to Judges and sometimes even conducts hearings to
resolve issues between the Divorcing parties. A party to a Divorce is
always allowed to have an attorney present at these hearings.

Often, a Divorcing couple will try to get one attorney to represent both
of them. Even if an attorney tells you otherwise, a Divorce which is
handled by one Attorney is unlikely to be equal and fair in reality.
This is because usually, Attorneys are best representing whoever pays
them. Furthermore, Judges as well as the entire legal system frowns
upon a lawyer attempting to represent two or more parties that have
conflicting interests, such as in a Divorce case. Frankly, you wouldn't
be getting a divorce if you didn't have conflicting interests! Thus,
each party in any legal matter and especially a Divorce proceeding,
should hire their own attorney. It is very easy to get married, but it
can be very expensive, difficult and exhaiusting to get Divorced.

Finally, the length of time to finalize and obtain a Divorce is broadly
determined by whether children are involved or not. Usually, the length
of time is longer when children are involved.