I almost passed over an Internet news story about people requesting help to prevent divorce. Something caught my eye just as I was turning away from the headline. The story was that people were asking churches in California to help prevent divorce. I opened up the story and read it and was impressed with the fact that people are seeking help in keeping their marriages and family together. I compared this story with my recent observations that many Californians are in the family court without seeking out solutions to their family law problem.
 
As a San Diego Certified Family Law Specialist attorney for over thirty years I've seen that marriages and relationships in general, are increasingly disposable. It almost appears that some people are trying out marriage and family as you would take a new car home from the dealership to drive it for a day in order to determine whether you wanted to buy the car. Or, the buyer who returns the item the next day with "buyer's remorse". Increasingly, at my Family Law office in La Jolla, California, we are receiving calls from a spouse who wants to end his or her one year marriage. Most of these calls involve a child or children that were born during this "marriage". 
 
I researched on the Internet to see whether churches in San Diego were offering marriage classes (in response of this articles' report that churches are being asked to make marriages more stable). I found that there are many, many resources out there and more on that below. 
 
As stated above, I connected this story with my recent observations that there are ongoing family law cases, in the San Diego Superior Court, where one of the parties is completely unprepared for the significant issues that are the subject of findings and orders in court. Recently a parent called my office stating that his wife, as he reported, who was bipolar with an alcohol addiction, was awarded custody or their young children. She was ordered to attend AA meetings and to do other things regarding alcohol recovery.
 
I commented to this caller that this was the first time I had heard of a parent being awarded the custody of young children while the parent was in substance abuse rehab and I asked the caller what legal help did the caller have for this case. Then the caller stated that the other spouse was represented in court while the caller was self represented. 
 
There are resources out there for addressing marital problems, divorce resolution and for getting legal help for significant child custody cases and other family law problems. As to my research for churches that offer marriage classes, premarital classes and marriage counseling: The Rock Church (numerous services for marriages and families); Family Discipleship Ministries (“Parenting is a Ministry” and “Marriage is a Ministry”).