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...
Perhaps one of the most challenging and time consuming tasks required in a California divorce is disclosure. Before a Judge will grant a divorce or legal separation both parties must certify that they have fully disclosed all of their assets and liabilities, have...
When we are young our parents are involved in a lot of our decision making. As we get older we take over this responsibility and start getting the opportunity to make our own decisions. When we enter romantic relationships and marriage we move to a new phase where...
I spent my coffee time this morning pondering how some seemingly insignificant decisions I have made over the course of my lifetime have altered my path and left me sitting in a halo of lamplight in this comfy leather chair in a home filled with a sleeping wife,...
Perhaps one of the most difficult things that parents must grapple with when the decision is made to divorce is accepting that they no longer have the opportunity to spend every day with their children. Factoring in the need for children to attend school and the...
I have been developing a writing practice where I get up each morning at 5:00 a.m. when the house is still sleeping, I grab my cup of coffee and sit down in the quiet to write. I will write about whatever comes to mind and the one requirement I have is that it is to...
A big part of what makes divorce so challenging is that divorcing couples are asked to make very important decisions related to their children, their property and their finances during a time of emotional turmoil. Divorce mediation takes it one step further and asks...
The litigated divorce is a public affair. The courtrooms where they take place are open to the public. Anything filed with the Court is available for anyone curious enough to request a copy. When couples file paperwork attacking, criticizing and pointing out all...
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: 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...
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 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 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...