Here we are once again in that week of time between Christmas and New Year’s where we are closing out 2024 and preparing ourselves for what 2025 has in store for us. I use this time to see how I did with accomplishing my 2024 goals and then move to setting my new...
I have always counted privacy as one of the great benefits of Divorce mediation. With a litigated divorce each party prepares declarations that get filed with the Court, taking the skeletons out of the closet, airing the dirty laundry and pointing out each other’s...
There are not many things more frustrating than misunderstandings and the subsequent breakdown of communication, especially with a person that you have a need to continue to engage with . I am in the midst of one such breakdown and my failure to find a way to resolve...
There is a lot of financial upheaval that happens as couples navigate their divorce and move into the new reality that is to follow. The financial situation gets much more complicated because now there are two homes to run and usually no additional resources to...
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite celebration days. In saying so it has nothing to do with the historical significance of the holiday as I understand that indigenous people see it as a reminder of a grave injustice. I acknowledge that. For me, Thanksgiving is a...
It has become one of my life’s strivings to try to save as many families as possible from a litigated divorce. If you have followed my blog at all you will have gathered that it is my perspective that most couples shouldn’t need a Judge to step in and tell them how...
Happy World Kindness Week to you all! November 9th through the 16th is Worldwide Kindness Week with World Kindness Day falling on November 13th. It is a global observance dedicated to promoting and celebrating acts of kindness. It is intended as a reminder of the...
I recently completed a mediation with a couple whom I had originally met with for a consultation over a year ago. At that time they ended up choosing a different path and had each hired their own attorney to handle the divorce. After a year of litigation they both...
Life is a work in progress and ongoing lesson for figuring out those things that truly matter. Some of those things have remained constant over the course of our lives. Some things that we might have previously thought mattered most, have turned out to be not as...
There is an African proverb that says “When elephants fight it is the grass that suffers.” Much can be drawn from this wisdom. There is a lot of collateral damage that arises from conflict and there is often harm done to the innocent bystanders looking on. In the...
I will readily admit that Divorce is not a happy topic. Most of the couples I am working with are going through a life event that is understandably making them very unhappy. There are studies that show that unhappiness is not good for your health and can lead to...
Back in 2020 I shifted my divorce practice to full time mediation and two years ago I made the final Court appearance in my last remaining contested case. As a mediator I do not represent either side so, while I am regularly filing paperwork with the Court to...
It wasn’t too long ago when I wrote about how little guideline child support has changed over the past 30 years. Change is now afoot. The California legislature has adopted SB-343 which modifies the formula for calculating child support and makes some notable...