While the U.S. has been clashing with Japan on this issue for years, America has decided to turn up the heat recently, with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell warning, “The situation has to be resolved in order to ensure that the U.S.-Japan relations continue on such a positive course.”

Japan is the only country of seven major industrial nations that has so far refused to sign the Hague Convention treaty that would ban child abductions involving other countries. While many have tried to defend the nation by explaining that its culture does not litigate divorce in the same manner that the U.S. does, many, including San Francisco family lawyers, say this is not an acceptable reason to ignore the problem.

To read more on the issue, see the article in the Washington Post. Image via futureatlas.com [Flickr].

In 2008, Phillip’s wife Karen had filed for divorce and friends of the couple claim Charles had been claiming to be single since 2003. In the last year though, the couple has since reconciled. In recent months, Charles has even been publicly sucking up to her, going so far to say he “owes everything to his wife” in a speech he gave during an award acceptance.

Not surprisingly, YaVaughnie felt spurned, but her next move was much more shocking than anyone would expect. The estranged girlfriend spent $250,000 to post billboards in San Francisco, New York, and Atlanta depicting herself and Charles together, a quote from Charles claiming YaVaughnie was his solemate, and a web address for her website, charlesphillipsandyavaughniewilkins.com. The website has since been taken down, but a copy can be seen on the designer’s website.

Since the billboards went up, the story became public and was posted across the web. Now Charles has come forward and confessed his affair with YaVaughnie. Unfortunately, this public embarrassment may not be the only way Charles will suffer. It seems YaVaughnie decided to put the billboards up right as Oracle was announcing a major merger with Sun Microsystems. Some believe the billboards may drastically affect the cost of the company’s stocks right during this crucial time.

Details are still unknown as to how this will affect Charles and Karen’s marriage, but it would not be surprising if Karen contacts her San Francisco family lawyer and refiles for divorce.

To read more about the story, see the articles in Cnet or Gawker.

The lowest divorce rate in the nation is in Massachussetts, which was also one of the first states to legalize same sex unions. The seven states with the highest divorce rates have constitutional bans on gay marriage. San Francisco family attorneys are hoping this may affect the major federal court case on the matter this month.

While the person who conducted the research has said the results are statistically significant, he is also quick to point out that the results do not necessarily imply causation.

To read more about the findings, see the article on Newser. Image Via laverrue [Flickr]

While living together before marriage was once considered scandalous, it is now a widely accepted practice –in fact, over 70% of couples do co-habitate before getting hitched.

Researchers believe the increased divorce rate could be a result of couples getting married for the wrong reasons. “We think that some couples who move in together without a clear commitment to marriage may wind up sliding into marriage partly because they are already cohabiting,” said University of Denver researcher Galena Rhoades. San Francisco family attorneys say other reasons couples may opt to get married include a joint lease, mutual ownership of a pet, or an unexpected pregnancy.

Of subsets of the couples who moved in before marriage, the study found that the reason the couple moved in also affected the happiness of the couple. Those who claimed financial reasons and a desire to spend more time together had overall happier marriages and fewer divorces than those who wanted to test out living together before marriage. “Cohabiting to test a relationship turns out to be associated with the most problems in relationships,” Rhoades said. “Perhaps if a person is feeling a need to test the relationship, he or she already knows some important information about how a relationship may go over time.”

To read more about these findings, see the article on Livescience.com. Image Via dsearls [Flickr].

“I heard there were a lot of people saying they had found out things about their partners on Facebook and I decided to see how prevalent it was,” Mark Keenan, Managing Director of Divorce-Online tells the Telegraph. “I was really surprised to see 20 per cent of all the petitions containing references to Facebook.”

Keenan says the most common reason Facebook was mentioned in the divorce petitions was due to married persons having sexual chats with people outside of their marriages.

While these numbers come from across the pond, San Francisco divorce attorneys agree that the site leads many spouses to be tempted to cheat on their husbands or wives.

To read more about the issue, see the article in the New York Daily News. Image Via pmarkham [Flickr].

Sources close to the couple report that she has made up her mind and will not be swayed to stay with her adulterous husband. This weekend, Elin was photographed around town not wearing her wedding ring. Reports indicate that she has been speaking with divorce attorneys in her local area regarding her prenuptial agreement and providing instructions to moving men who appeared to be removing large works of art from the couple’s home.

While adultery is not ordinarily grounds for a larger divorce settlement, San Francisco divorce attorneys say the prenuptial may make mention of unfaithfulness and have remedies in place for this situation. If so, Tiger could lose far more than 50% of his property.

To read more about Elin’s decision, see the article in People. Image Via Keith Allison [Flickr].

San Francisco divorce attorneys claim that Va’shaundya’s moving to California is a major sign that she is looking to get as much as she can out of the divorce. She has already gone on record as wanting complete custody of the children, child support and spousal support from the divorce.

The divorce was filed shortly after Va’shaundya learned about Shaq’s 5-year long affair with Laura Govan, the pregnant fiancee of Gilbert Arenas.  All signs so far point to this being a very emotional and financially straining divorce process.

To read more about the divorce, see the article in S2S Magazine. Image Via Keith Allison [Flickr].

“The marriage went downhill almost immediately upon moving to this location,” Hilton said in an interview with The San Mateo County Times reported. “The house became extremely uncomfortable with the smog and the noise, and it caused enormous problems that led to the divorce.”

He also claims the noise from the planes, which he compared to bombs dropping on a war zone, caused his health and career to suffer as well. Hilton, an ex-litigation lawyer, will be representing himself in the suit.

To read more about the lawsuit, see the article on NBC Bay Area. Image Via PhillipC [Flickr]

“It’s actually what I think is a logical extension of Prop 8, which was the California Marriage Protection Act. (My initiative) would protect traditional marriages by banning divorce,” he explained.

Marcotte’s measure needs to be formally approved by the California Attorney General before a growing army of volunteers rallies to sign the petition. News about the proposed measure spread so fast that the website for the proposition, RescueMarriage.org, crashed multiple times over the weekend due to the traffic surge it received.

While some people have shown concern that the proposal may actually gain enough support to be placed on the ballot, San Francisco divorce attorneys have been reminding those concerned that even if the initiative was voted in, the California Supreme Court would not let it stand.

For more information, please read the full article on ABC News 10. Image via Kashmir [Flickr]

Most married couples prefer to share the same bed, but this may actually be detrimental to both their health and relationships. Sleep researcher Dr. Neil Stanley has come across evidence that separate beds ensure each person receives a good night’s rest, which may help prevent stroke, heart disease and divorce. He also claims that sharing a bed may increase the risk of depression and suicidal behavior.

“You [have] this person who makes noise, punches, kicks and gets up to go to the loo in the middle of the night, is it any wonder you are not getting a good night’s sleep?” says Dr. Stanley.

Stanley’s studies have shown that when one partner tosses in his or her sleep, there is a 50% chance their partner will roll over as well. This movement reduces the quality of sleep.

One of the major factors that may prevent couples from getting separate beds may be the issue of presenting the idea to your spouse. Most San Francisco divorce attorneys will tell you this is a small price to pay when considering something that may help your marriage last longer.

Dr. Stanley advises couples who enjoy cuddling to enjoy the cuddling in the same bed and then simply move to a separate bed when the time comes to go to sleep. He reminds couples, “Intimacy is important for emotional health. But good sleep is important for physical, emotional and mental health.”

To read more about this finding, please read the article in NY Daily News. Image Via Rocksee [Flickr]