Families In Crisis

Today, half of all marriages end in divorce. Separation and divorce take a heavy toll on a family--emotionally and financially. For family members who cannot afford legal services, the impact of divorce is doubly devastating. Crucial legal remedies may be lost when family members and those seeking to help them do not know their legal rights or cannot negotiate through a complex and adversarial system.

When families fall apart, children fall the hardest. Because of the domestic problems between their parents, these children may become vulnerable to teen pregnancy, drug abuse, and crime. For more information on some of the problems faced by children, go to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT project.

Too often, parents at war with each other in a domestic case may deprive their children of the most basic means of financial support. Unresolved disputes over property and child support may lead to battles over custody and visitation and increase disruption in the lives of children. Parents, frustrated with an unresponsive legal system, may lack the support to help their children adapt emotionally to the family's new situation.