Divorce can be a difficult process for California couples who are facing the end of their marriages. In many cases the communication between them has broken down, making them unable to come to an accord on even the most minor issue. In other cases, the hard-line attitude that one or both of the estranged spouses are taking result in arbitrary and capricious demands being made.
There are instances where one of the parties has already become involved with a new romantic partner. If it is the mother and there are young children still living in the home, she might demand that she be given physical custody of those children as well as the house.
However, divorce can be very traumatic on children as well, and the father in such a situation may want to try to ensure that the new partner is not allowed to live in the house for a specified period of time after the divorce is finalized. This perhaps can be down through asking the court to appoint a guardian ad litem.
Other demands can be just as out of line. For example, if an estranged spouse is asking for alimony and is capable of finding employment but refuses to do so, the other spouse can object to it when the issue is coming before a judge. It is important, though, that discussions be kept as rational and as civil as possible.
One potential way to resolve seemingly out-of-line demands is through mediation, where a trained and neutral third party will attempt to guide the couple into reaching an accord on the applicable divorce legal issues. Each spouse is entitled to legal representation throughout that process.
