California Family Law Act

California’s Family Law Act has been heralded as the first major change in the State’s divorce provisions in one hundred years. The Act is an attempt to remedy two major criticisms of current divorce practice both in California and throughout the United States. First, those advocating reform believe that laws controlling the granting of divorces are in conflict with modem concepts of marriage and divorce. Many divorce laws impose punitive sanctions in an attempt to deter those who would otherwise seek a divorce. Second, notwithstanding their intent, divorce laws have not, in fact, reduced the frequency of divorce. The inability of current divorce laws to help solve family problems and lower the divorce rate, the growing concern with the increasing numbers of children affected by divorce, and the inability of the courts to deal adequately with the heavy load of divorce cases have all contributed to the impetus for divorce law reform.