Marriage counseling is not a legal requirement for California before getting a divorce, but it can be an important step in the process. It is typically recommended that couples considering divorce try marriage counseling as a way to explore the possibility of saving their relationship before filing for divorce.
At times separation can lead to divorce; other times it brings couples back together.
How Can It Benefit Your Case?
Marriage counseling, before divorce, can provide several advantages for couples in the process of divorcing. Among these is the ability to address some of the areas of conflict in order to get a clear understanding of the details and reasons for your divorce.
Other benefits include:
- Helping couples better understand the reasons for the breakdown of their relationship. Counseling can offer a neutral and supportive space for each spouse to express their feelings and experiences without fear of judgment or criticism. This can assist the partners to more clearly acknowledge the issues and challenges they face, and work together to uncover solutions.
- Marriage counseling can help improve communication between spouses. Often times couples considering divorce struggle with effective communication. Counseling can offer specific tools and strategies to assist couples to communicate more effectively, leading to greater understanding and a deeper connection.
- Counseling can help identify unhealthy patterns of behavior such as conflict avoidance, criticism, or emotional disengagement. Once these patterns are identified and addressed couples can learn to better manage conflicts and build healthier methods of interaction.
- Counseling can also provide advice and support around co-parenting and other issues that may arise after divorce. Counselors can work with couples to develop a plan for how they will manage parenting responsibilities, financial obligations, and other issues that can surface during and after divorce.
Overall, while marriage counseling is not a legal requirement for divorce, it can be an important step to take before or during the process. By better understanding the reasons for the breakdown of their relationship, improving communication and identifying unhealthy patterns, and planning for life after separation, couples can make more nuanced and clearer decisions for themselves and their families.
If the marriage does fail despite counseling hopefully the parties have learned to better communicate with one another to have a more amicable divorce. Especially in situations where children are involved, it can be beneficial to have a marriage counselor help develop a parenting plan, assist with how to address the divorce with your children, and identify tools to help your children cope with the divorce.
At Buncher Family Law, we have many resources, including the names of counselors, to help couples move through the process as seamlessly as possible. Our extensive experience assisting couples to move through challenging issues has provided us with many tools to help couples minimize conflict.