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Georgians who are wanting to divorce but who have been married for less than 10 years may want to wait until they’ve hit the decade mark before filing. This is especially true in marriages in which one spouse has had a stay-at-home role or in those in which there is a large income disparity between the two.

Many divorcing Georgia couples hope for a clean break and a fresh start, but those with children will often have to spend considerable time with each other. Divorced parents may feel that coming to an agreement regarding custody arrangements and visitation schedules is the most difficult part of the process, but moving on and working together as a parenting team is sometimes hard for them as well.

Georgia parents who have obtained a divorce or who have been considering ending their marriage might already be aware of the difficulties associated with the holiday season. Since both parents usually want to be with their child or children during the Christmas season, there is often a conflict of interest between the two parents. It is a well known fact that family courts have a heavier caseload around the holiday season.

Some California television watchers may be familiar with Amber Portwood, who made her debut as a teenager on the popular show ‘Teen Mom.” Portwood had a daughter with Gary Shirley and became involved in substance abuse that put her custody of the girl in jeopardy. After being charged with felony domestic abuse in 2011, Portwood lost custody of her daughter to the father, who was allegedly assaulted by Portwood on multiple occasions.

Some Georgia couples enter into prenuptial agreements before they get married in order to protect themselves in the event of a divorce. While many younger people who have few assets when they get married often decide a prenuptial agreement isn’t worth the expense or don’t want to discuss it with their future spouses, people getting married for the second time often do decide it’s a good idea.

Many same-sex couples living in Georgia were delighted when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2015 that same-sex marriages were legal across the country. However, the expanding definition of marriage under state and federal law has led to unforeseen ramifications in family courts.

Happily married couples in Georgia may not expect divorce to happen to them, but financial experts say it could still be a good idea to be prepared for the possibility of marriage ending, just in case. Preparing for a divorce that is not expected could be viewed in the same light as preparing for other unexpected events such as house fires, accidents or job losses.

Some divorces in Georgia involve court-ordered alimony that is paid monthly or in a lump sum. While some people view alimony as unfair to the paying spouse, others see that alimony can be necessary when one spouse earns far less income than the other spouse.

A type of infidelity is tearing American marriages apart, but it may not be a kind of cheating Georgia readers are familiar with. It’s known as financial infidelity, and studies have found that it is creeping into many U.S. marriages.

Although divorce rates are dropping in most age groups, that isn’t the case for those over the age of 50. In 2014, the divorce rate among couples over the age of 50 was double what it was in 1990, according to research from Bowling Green University. Some believe that this is because most people over the age of 50 are in their second marriages.