The Timelines of Divorce and The Speed Of Mediation
A common question I hear during my first consultation with couples gathering information as they prepare to divorce, is “how long does the process take?” There are a few different clocks that we must reference to answer this question. First, in mediation, there is...
Divorce Mediation as a Resource for Therapists
This past week I had the opportunity to chat with two wonderful therapists, Miriam Collada with Collada Counseling in Mission Valley, who is just beginning to embark on her private practice journey and Kara Kohnen, with Grow Through Life Counseling, who has been at...
Mediating Divorce and the Collision Between Emotions and the Law
Back in 2003 when I took my very first Divorce Mediation training there were about 18 of us enrolled in the week-long course. Three of us were divorce attorneys and everyone else was therapists. The course was taught by a Husband and Wife team where one was an...
Divorce Mediation and The Building of Tree Forts
Divorce Mediation and the Building of Tree Forts: A Lesson in Collaboration and Compromise I don’t have it listed prominently on my resume, but I am a climber of trees and a builder of tree forts. I never thought to add that to my credentials or point it out in my...
Divorce and Sitting Down at the Table
The main difference between divorce mediation and the traditional litigated divorce with attorneys, is how long it takes for the couple to sit down together at the same table to have a meaningful discussion to settle their case. In divorce mediation, the case begins...
Divorce Mediation and Stinging Nettle? Finding the Good in it.
Divorce and Stinging Nettle? Here we go with the clichés of divorce being like a weed that takes over the yard or divorce packing a sting. Sure, there is that. I hope by the time we are done with the analogy it will make a little more sense, it won’t be too sappy,...
Nesting and Child Custody in Divorce Mediation
Nesting is a child sharing arrangement in divorce where the children remain full time in the family home and the parents move in when it is their parenting time, and move out when it is the other parent’s custodial time. This is not a very common practice but...
Adding Detail and Depth to Divorce Agreements
The Divorce Agreement. When couples divorce there are certain items that need to be dealt with to consider the divorce complete. These issues include ending the status of the marriage, addressing the custody and visitation of minor children, setting child and spousal...
Divorce and Estate Planning
In a recent study conducted by caring.com it was found that while 56% of those surveyed believed that estate planning was important, only 33% of Americans had actually formally completed their estate plan. Each state has laws that determine what happens to somebody's...
Divorce Mediation and Life Insurance
It isn’t hard to think of a more pleasant combination of topics to write about than divorce and death, but here we are. It is valuable to understand the three primary situations where life insurance needs to be addressed in a divorce. The first situation is when the...