Bay Area & Sacramento Area Family Law Blog

In California, older spouses involved in long-lasting marriages may view grey divorces as happy events. For many older couples, life is a burden too difficult to bear. Marriages often become unbearable because the spouses are no longer compatible. Divorce was frowned upon for generations, especially for couples involved in long-term relationships. Although the phrase "grey divorce" was invented in 2004, older couples had already been obtaining grey divorces for two decades. Today, older couples are filing for grey divorces.

Most people believe that marriage presents a challenge to each spouse. Sadly, spouses are not always able to cope with the challenges. The social taboo of getting a divorce is not as prevalent today. Nonetheless, the younger couple's living in today's society are not clamoring for divorces. Instead, older people, especially those who are over 50 years old, are filing for divorces. The reasons for getting a grey divorce varies from couple to couple. One important reason is that adultery is a growing trend among older married couples. However, a divorce caused by a cheating spouse may lead to complex asset divisions.

Some television viewers in California who watch "Rehab Addict" starring Nicole Curtis might relate to her real-world problems. Her most recent dispute with her former partner concerns $6,059.50 in unpaid child support for their 3-year-old son. The HGTV star filed a court petition that requires the child's father to appear in court and explain why he has not made payment. If he does not show up, he could be held in contempt of court and ultimately face arrest.

The parents have engaged in a long series of disputes over their son. In July 2018, the father pursued sole custody. His court filings described Curtis as unfit to be a mother. He claimed that she had defied a court order and tried to prevent him from seeing his child.

Visitation and custody rights are often at the forefront of California parents' minds when going through a divorce, and being denied these rights or having them limited can be devastating. Divorce already brings about large changes in a parent's life, but being unable to visit with one's own child can have a far-reaching impact on the future of children after a divorce.

According to NBC's Verywell Family, visitation rights are often denied or limited due to underlying concerns outlined by the court, including residential location and distance from the custodial parent as well as safety conditions in the home of the parent seeking unsupervised visitation. As such, an alternative to denying visitation outright may be for the court to grant supervised visitation in locations of its choosing.

Parents in California and throughout the nation who struggle to keep up with child support payments aren't necessarily deadbeats. Instead, they are having legitimate issues providing for their children financially because of factors that may be outside of their control. For instance, a parent could have other children to support simultaneously or lose a job unexpectedly. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 45.3 percent of parents receive all the support that they are owed.

A child support order could be modified if a parent's circumstances change. Changes could include a loss of income or the fact that a child costs more to raise now than he or she did in the past. Unexpected medical expenses could also be a valid reason to ask for a support modification order. Parents should always have a judge formally change an order as opposed to agreeing to an informal deal as that may be difficult to enforce.