Divorce Parties Help Achieve Post-Marital Bliss

For years, divorce has been seen as the end of a relationship, but increasingly more and more people are seeing it as the beginning of a new life.
The new outlook on divorce is giving rise to a trend that's spreading from country to country, continent to continent. Divorce parties have become all the rage in the U.S. and the U.K., and now they're taking off here in Canada.
Maria Caldarozzi, an event planner in Halifax, says she has already planned several divorce parties this year.
"It's a celebration of independence," she says.
"It's a celebration of your education -- of where you were -- and now a whole new road you're going down. You just learn to share it with your friends and family. You just want to have a great time and start life over again..."

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For more information regarding the California dissolution process, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at http://www.familylawmarin.com/

International: Divorce Drives Up Real Estate Sales in Australia

DIVORCE will drive real estate sales - regardless of interest rate rises.
Break-ups among married and de facto couples account for up to 15 per cent of all residential sales, L.J. Hooker WA manager Luke Walker said.
A Sydney agent recently claimed the figure was closer to 40 per cent, with every second client selling because of divorce.
Professionals WA Real Estate chief executive officer David Hobbs said that while he thought this figure was overstated, he agreed divorce triggered a big percentage of sales.
"Two properties in my street are being sold due to divorce. It is fairly prevalent at this stage,'' he said...

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Innocent Victims of a Litigious Divorce: The Children

"The war of the Roses" depicted every couple's worst nightmare. Two people who were once in love are engaged in a major battle where both sides lose. Divorce is second only to death as the most stressful of life's experiences. And litigated divorce increases the emotional stress many times over due to the hostility generated and the high financial cost. This is the tragedy of an acrimonious divorce. Each side hires a lawyer as their hired gun.
There is an alternative to the bitter, acrimonious litigated divorce...

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For more information about alternatives to divorce litigation, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Overcoming Divorce Trauma

Foolproof Strategies for Maintaining Your Child's Equilibrium:
As is typical in practically every divorce, your children are usually the last know. Even when a marriage is fraught with discord, children generally hold onto the wish that their parents will somehow manage to stay together, or, like The Parent Trap, they can engineer a modicum of a truce. But in the real world, acrimonious marriages generally end in equally contentious divorces. When that happens, a constellation of emotions surface, feelings of abandonment rage, psychological dysregulation, and immense anger are but a few of the overwhelming feelings children experience...

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For more information, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Dividing Pension and Retirement Benefits

Under the Family Code of California, community property is divided between the spouses 50/50. Retirement benefits are a form of employment compensation, like earnings. Thus, regardless of when the benefits are vested or matured, for pensions based on time of service as opposed to a point system fn-1, the benefits are community property, to the extent earned during marriage, up to date of separation.
For example, if the Participant [spouse earning the pension] earns benefits under the plan for 240 months, and is married prior to separation during 160 of those months, 2/3 of the benefits are community property. The other spouse therefore has a right to 50% of that 2/3 = 1/3 of the pension benefits.
When these rights are established through an appropriate order [see below], the other spouse is recognized by the pensions as an Alternate Payee.

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For more information, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

California Divorce Basics

Residency Requirements and Grounds for DivorceYou must be a resident of California for six months and a county resident for three months to file for a divorce, called a "dissolution."

Either spouse can get a divorce simply by stating in the divorce papers that "irreconcilable differences" have caused a breakdown in the marriage. If both spouses are in agreement that there should be a divorce, they can agree in writing (called a "stipulation") that the marriage can be ended...

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For more information on California divorce proceedings, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com

Evaluating Spousal Support

Unlike child support, only vague guidelines are established in California for evaluating the amount of spousal support. Unfortunately, broad latitude is given by judges with varying attitudes. Different results appear in cases with similar factual situations. Generally speaking, spousal support is based on the reasonable needs of the wife as they relate to the husband's ability to pay, in order to maintain the Marital Standard of Living, established during the marriage. Major factors commonly employed to determine the appropriate amount of support are as follows...

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For more information on spousal support, contact the Law Offices of Renee M. Marcelle at (415) 456-4444, or online at www.familylawmarin.com