San Jose Divorce Attorneys

Not all people who fall in love and get married have a happily-ever-after. There are times when even those who seemed to have been in the deepest of love fail to make their marriages work. When the marriage falls apart, it affects everyone not just the troubled married pair.

There are generally two legal ways to end a marriage. A marriage is ended by either annulment or divorce. There are certain requirements which must be met in order to file for either one of these.

An annulment is when the couple undergoes legal proceedings to end their marriage. This is initiated by either the husband or the wife. Whoever initiates the proceedings must prove that there is a basis for getting an annulment. Some situations that serve as a basis for getting an annulment are bigamy, underage marriage and the like. Once the annulment has been granted, the couple's marriage is declared null and void. An annulment makes it appear as though the couple was never married in the first place since it erases the history of the couple ever getting married.

Divorce is technically defined as the ending of a married couple's legal relationship. When people get married, they sign a marriage contract or license. This license is legal and binding. Getting a divorce ends the legality of the marriage license. They still have a history of getting married once upon a time but they are now legally free to marry other people. Their civil status reverts back to being single. Divorces can get complicated so it is advised for both parties to have divorce lawyers present in order for the lawyers to handle the entire divorce process and the legalities surrounding the divorce. It's not as simple as just ending the marriage. Your properties, custody of the children, and alimonies should be thought and decided upon as well.

There are two types of divorces. These are the no-fault divorce and the fault divorce. The no-fault divorce is done when both parties don't blame each other for the failure of the marriage. These are often caused by irreconcilable differences between the husband and the wife with no party accepting any blame. People seeking to get no-fault divorces are oftentimes required to experience a separation first before looking for a divorce. This gives both husband and wife to think things out and to try to reconcile their differences.

The fault divorce is when one of the parties blames the other for causing the marriage to end. Some of the reasons for getting a fault divorce are when one party commits adultery, the husband deserts the wife or vice-versa, or when there is physical or emotional abuse experienced by one party in the hands of the other.

Divorce is acceptable in some countries but not permitted in other countries. Countries who are predominantly of the Catholic orientation in their religious beliefs mostly don't allow divorces. Instead they allow annulments.

Ending a marriage is not something that a person just suddenly wakes and decides to do. It is often a step taken after a series of events and after being given a lot of thought. Ending the marriage may be caused by a lot of factors such as bigamy, infidelity, a partner's irresponsibility, and money. Whatever the reason is for legally ending the marriage, both parties must make sure that the agreement is something that both can live with since it not only affects both of their lives and futures but also affects the lives and futures of their children and the people around them as well.