The observed orbital period distribution of cataclysmic variables (CVs), the space density derived
from observations, and the observed orbital period minimum are known to disagree with theoretical
predictions since decades. More recently, the white dwarf (WD) masses in CVs have been
found to significantly exceed those of single WDs, which is in contrast to theoretical expectations
as well. We here claim that all these problems are related and can be solved if CVs with
low-mass white dwarfs are driven into dynamically unstable mass transfer due to consequential
angular momentum loss (CAML). Indeed, assuming CAML increases as a function of decreasing
white dwarf mass can bring into agreement the predictions of binary population models and the
observed properties of the CV population. We speculate that a common envelope like evolution
of CVs with low-mass WDs following a nova eruption might be the physical process behind our
empirical prescription of CAML.