This is the kind of story that few soap opera writers could create.
Married less than a year ago you and your husband started your marriage with two sons, one four years old and one two years old. Just months before the wedding, however, your husband admitted that he had a one night affair that, he also admitted, had created another pregnancy. Devastated but determined to make your boys’ father your husband, you did some rearranging and you still celebrated your wedding. Just six months after saying your vows, however, you introduced your boys to their new sister. Just born, you and your husband worked with an affordable family law attorney to get partial custody. Visits every other weekend created a different kind of schedule as you were parents of three, not two children. Fortunately, you had moved to a new city so there were not so many old family and friends around to explain the complicated details of this new little girl.
In addition to the affordable family law attorney, you also worked with a marriage counselor and attended counseling sessions on your own as well. In spite of all these efforts, however, the situation was hard. Even finding a new church in the new city was strange as you sometimes you would have your two sons when you would visit, and other times you would have the two boys and their new sister. The typical questions that well meaning congregation members would ask were awkward and you know that there will be many difficult conversations with your boys as they grow older.
Not All Families Look Alike
From same sex marriages to oversea adoptions to the complications of blended families, there are many times when a family does not look the same as others. Fortunately, with the help of counselors and attorneys there are ways to navigate many situations. In spite of all of the best efforts and intentions, however, there are times when a marriage simply does not work out. It as at these times of difficult transitions when same sex divorce lawyers and other kinds of affordable family law attorneys are of the most value. Dividing property and assets, determining child support and custody calendars are all big challenges, and it should come as no surprise that there are many times when legal advice is not only needed, but necessary.
Aside from the emotional stress of dealing with the end of a marriage or the challenges involved with a child custody case, there are also very specific legal challenges. Knowing that you have found an experienced, but affordable family law attorney, however, can help you navigate some of life’s biggest challenges. Consider some of these statistics about marriage and divorce as an indicator of the many times when getting legal advice is in your best interest:
- One of every two children born to cohabiting parents will experience a parental breakup by age nine, according to Pew Research.
- There is a 50-50 chance that a child born to a cohabiting couple was not planned, according to an analysis by Brookings Institute.
- An unfortunate statistic is that between 40% to 50% of married couples in the U.S. divorce.
- The latest research indicates that there are more than 2.2 million marriages every year in the U.S.
- Unfortunately, as many as 827,000 divorces happen every year as well.
Few of us have storybook marriages. In fact, many of us have been a part of situations that are so complicated it is difficult to imagine them even being written into the drama of a daytime soap opera. Finding an experienced family attorney, however, is often the first necessary step in making sure that what ever difficult transition you are facing goes as smoothly as possible. When life gets messy and decisions become challenging, it is important to make sure that you are getting the most experienced and reliable legal advice that is available. And while you may not be able to explain your current family situation to a stranger at a new church, it is important that you work with an attorney who will make every the most difficult of situations manageable. Getting the legal help that you need sooner rather than later is always in your best interest.
