Is one of these issues leading you to divorce?

If someone were to ask you to predict which of your neighbors’ marriages might end in divorce, would you have some ideas? Current data suggests as many as half of all marriages will end in divorce rather than last a lifetime. Perhaps your own relationship is currently standing on rocky ground and you are considering divorce as well.

You may relate to some of the most common issues other couples say they encountered before ultimately determining that divorce was their most viable option. Some couples are actually able to overcome their problems and restore their relationships. Others try, but their efforts prove unsuccessful, so they change their focus toward keeping their kids’ best interests in mind and negotiating fair and agreeable settlements.

Do these issues sound familiar?

When spouses divorce, they often cite one or more of the following problems as causal factors in the breakdown of their marriages:

• If a spouse is unfaithful, the pain and devastation may outweigh the chances of restoring the relationship.
• Money problems land many couples in divorce court. Whether you fight over finances all the time or are like-minded but are facing serious financial crisis, the stress might be too much for your marriage to withstand.
• Some couples divorce after tragedy strikes their family, perhaps the loss of a child or a spouse getting let go at work. Receiving a medical diagnosis for terminal illness can also be too heavy a burden for some spouses to bear.
• Family squabbles with in-laws or other relatives may place too much strain on some marriages.

You may have already tried to get your relationship back on track a time or two and have finally decided that it’s just not going to work. Instead of mulling things over again and again as to what you should have or could have done differently, it might be more helpful to focus on the future and on obtaining a settlement that keeps your children’s best interests in mind.

Who can help?

If you talk to others who have gone through divorce, preferably a trusted family member or close friend, you may get an idea about what to expect in proceedings and also learn what types of things you might want to avoid if your goal is to keep stress to a minimum. If legal matters concern you, you can reach out for support from someone well-versed in California family law.