Divorce, child custody, division of marital property

Divorce, child custody, and division of marital property are legal processes that occur when a marriage ends, requiring courts to determine how children will be raised and how assets and debts accumulated during the marriage will be split. How property is divided depends on the jurisdiction, with some states following community property laws (a strict 50/50 split) and others using equitable distribution (a fair, but not necessarily equal, division based on factors like need, health, and contributions to the marriage).