They say men are from Mars and women are from Venus and sometimes it really does feel like we're speaking two different languages! All couples will run into a communication problem or two, whether it's nagging or the constant "he said, she said" that can plague a relationship. But can men and women really communicate effectively with each other? Or are they too different to ever see eye to eye? Good communication is possible, but it takes effort.

By choosing to love someone else, we open ourselves up to possibilities. Possibilities to experience total bliss, passion, and deep soul satisfaction, as well as the possibility to experience total emotional devastation! But most of us view the possible benefits as being worth the risk, and so we involve ourselves with others to get love.

And therein lies the problem.

We know for a fact that even a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship is exceedingly painful when it ends. How much more when ending a married life. Relationship is something that can be considered as sacred. There is a degree of intimacy that when have to be broken can cause so much pain. However, there are times, when someone promises a lifetime commitment and yet those promises just mean nothing, then this really can bring to a worst ending.

A divorce is never easy, but it is possible to end a marriage amicably with little or no difficulty. However, this is not always true in the many cases. Divorce lawyers are usually the only ones that truly win in a long drawn out divorce proceeding, which tends to be extremely overwhelming for the parties involved both psychologically and financially.

A book could be written to describe all the reasons why married couples get divorced. I want to highlight a few of the major components behind marital divorce. It is important not to be tricked into thinking that couples just wake up one day and decide to divorce each other.

Most often, divorce is just the icing on a cake that has been in the oven for months, or even years.

DISCLAIMER: The following is NOT legal advice, nor is it a substitute for legal advice. If you are in Family Court you will need legal advice, so please see a lawyer.

Often in Family Court orders you see Visitation / Access orders that spell out that a divorced dads time with the children will be described as follows:

The father is to have reasonable access as the parties may agree.

DISCLAIMER: The following is NOT legal advice, nor is it a substitute for legal advice. If you are in Family Court you will need legal advice, so please see a lawyer.

One of the saddest things we see are when Mom either moves away with the kids without any notice. Most Courts generally accept that dad is entitled to notice of a move-away plan, and will grant an emergency without non-removal order, prohibiting Mom from moving the children away without a full investigation by the family Court and a lengthy set of hearings.

DISCLAIMER: The following is NOT legal advice, nor is it a substitute for legal advice. If you are in Family Court you will need legal advice, so please see a lawyer.

Sometimes the issue of transporting the children during access / visitation times becomes extremely contentious. On a recent teleseminar, Heidi Nabert, President of The National Shared Parenting Association and I were asked the following:

I am wondering about driving issues.

DISCLAIMER: The following is NOT legal advice, nor is it a substitute for legal advice. If you are in Family Court you will need legal advice, so please see a lawyer.

Being denied visitation time with your children when you separate and /or divorce is the # one frustration that all divorced dads share in common. Here's a common story that I was recently told by one father:

I have access every weekend with my son, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, but last week the judge decided to make it every other weekend so that the mother can spend time with my son.

We often get asked this question: "Gee, can you just walk into a family court and watch?" You can. Some procedures, you can. There are other procedures that you cannot. Anything that involves any kind of child services, where there is some sort of abuse or things of that nature, those types of hearings are closed to the public. It would only be the parties involved, but if anything, there are motions and other types of procedures that the public is welcome to attend.