I was asked to write this article from the perspective of a non-attorney Divorce Mediator. Divorce mediation, as with a traditional divorce, tries to achieve the same end result, a set of agreements that are equitable and can be lived with by both parties. Where they differ sometimes is that mediation is also about helping
In my last blog post I suggested that sending mediation clients off to separate attorneys was not being helpful. In response to this proposition one reader, an attorney and mediator from California, suggested that I had a low opinion of attorneys. I hope not. I have been a proud member
Divorcing a narcissist may be the toughest fight of your life. While your marriage to a narcissist may have seemed like hell, divorcing him/her can be painfully agonizing, making your marriage seem like a walk in the park. Following my recent blog, the #1 Secret to Engaging a Narcissist, I received hundreds of emails from
TAMPA — He got the furniture. She got the car. They split custody of their daughter and everybody’s happy. The divorce of Tyler Nelson and Pamela Burton will be finalized on Friday, but they didn’t have to go through years of litigation or deal with months of acrimony to legally end their marriage. The couple
Maybe “lies” is a bit strong. Maybe you’re more comfortable with the words “myths” or “stories”. I was, when I originally titled this article, but the truth is, there are divorce lies out there. And many people suffer needlessly when they’re trying to recover from divorce as a result of believing these untruths. I suffered
Over my many years of specializing in family law I have handled thousands of divorces. These have run from very simple, uncontested matters to complicated cases. Many involve custody and other disputes regarding children. I have also had divorces where people have fought over millions of dollars in assets. The question that I am posing,
In family law mediation, it is not uncommon to hear the parties question their judgment regarding the difficult decision to proceed with divorce. I am often asked by one of the two individuals sitting in my office, “Don’t you think we make a cute couple?” or, “Aren’t we great together?” These are uncomfortable questions in
Before people in Illinois get married, they can play an active role in managing their assets and properties to protect themselves and their financial future. The manner in which title to property is held can have a dramatic impact on property division when a divorce occurs. As part of this, it is valuable to have
Given the no-fault nature of most divorces, the issue of blame related to who caused the end of the marriage does not matter from a legal standpoint. However, during divorce proceedings, if one spouse has been unfaithful during the marriage, this information can affect the settlement outcome under certain conditions. Extra-marital relationships are potentially relevant,
In week six of Children of Divorce and Changing Families’ 8-week program, we do an exercise where we ask each child in the 10-12 year old group to create a set of rules that they wish their parents would follow to ease post divorce stresses. The rules they write privately are then shared with the
