Among the Ask a Divorce Lawyer questions answered today by Cordell & Cordell attorneys:

• If I never turned in our marriage certificate to the clerk, am I still legally married?
• I've been making the mortgage payments during the divorce process so is the home mine during this time?
• Can I request the kids be taken out of daycare if they're old enough? Why do I pay for that and child support?
• Do I have to pay half of our child's counseling fees if there is no court order and my ex set it up without input from me?
• My child's mother is moving states and leaving my child to live with a friend. I'll still be paying child support. Shouldn't she have to pay as well since she's leaving the child or can I have more obligation reduced?
• My ex has a court order to refinance the mortgage, but has already been denied once. What happens if she can't refinance?
• My ex is paid off but I still owe the state a lot of money, the majority of which is surcharges that will keep piling up. Do I have any options?

Question:

My wife has recently filed for divorce after almost two years of infidelity on her part and me trying to work past this and save the marriage. We were married in Michigan and have two children, one of which is biologically mine. She moved to South Carolina saying it was temporary and it would help us, but she never returned.

So I moved to South Carolina last month so I could be with my children and try to fix things with my wife. Once I got here, she filed for divorce. I also recently found out that she has gotten engaged to this other man.

I would like to still fix my marriage because we still get along great, and I still love her. Can the court grant me a request for marriage counseling and stall the divorce process? Also, if a divorce is unavoidable, does the fact that we've been living separate make her affair OK in the eyes of the court?

by Richard Avdoian, MS, MSW, CSP

Three of the deepest human necessities are the need to belong, to be needed, and be involved with family, work and community.  It is important to remain healthy during divorce and afterwords.

The need to belong and engaged is so great that people who aren’t actively engaged in all facets of life tend to be poor performers, disengaged, lack motivation and simply exist one-dimensionally. 

In some cases being detached and inactive can lead to bouts of down-heartedness, depression and higher rates of chronic illnesses.  Read more to find out what you should be doing to stay in the game.