The question “Can I date during my divorce?” comes up all the time in my practice. I tell my clients it’s not a good idea to date until the divorce is final – there are too many complications. In spite of my advice, clients do date during their divorce. Usually it’s because they’re lonely or want to feel better about themselves. After all, what could go wrong on a simple date? Lots of bad things if you date while your divorce is pending. There are strategic, legal and emotional reasons not to … [Read more...]
Pro Bono Collaborative Divorce Moves Forward in Texas
Pro Bono Collaborative Divorce has come to Texas; learn more about how it works. After two years of planning and preparation and the launching of a pilot program in Houston, Pro Bono Collaborative Divorce has finally come to Texas. Translated, this means that in a short time, the advantages of collaborative divorce will be available to clients who cannot afford to hire a lawyer to represent them. So what is Pro Bono Collaborative Divorce (PBCD), and who will be eligible to utilize the … [Read more...]
You Don’t Have to Be A Celebrity to Want a Private Divorce
For those who want to avoid the public eye — and you don't have to be a celebrity to want that — a collaborative divorce might be your best option for a private divorce. We ran across a recent article in the Collaborative Law Institute of Minnesota blog titled "Divorce in the Public Eye." It started with an acknowledgment of celebrity divorce, before moving into local public figures like "our children’s teachers, our mayors, [and our] city councilmen," as well as discussion about a current … [Read more...]
The Four Stages of Divorce
Knowing the four stages of divorce can help you stay on the same page with everyone else involved in the divorce. We wanted to share a blog article that San Antonio family lawyer and Collaborative Divorce Texas member Harry Munsinger shared on his website. Titled "The Four Stages of Divorce," it looks at the emotional process that divorcing people go through. As the article notes, "Individuals experience four psychological stages during divorce: deliberation, decision, transition, and … [Read more...]
Getting Through a Divorce with Kindness
"Divorce with kindness" might seem like a challenge, but it should be your goal. I recently heard part of a story on NPR in which a grade school teacher talked about her favorite word: Kindness. She commented that she was going to get rid of all of her classroom rules and just post "Be Kind." This made me think about my divorce cases and how different so many of them could be if the lawyers and clients could just focus on that one phrase. Of course, there are situations when that is not a … [Read more...]
Protecting Your Separate Property Before Divorce
When dividing assets in a Texas divorce, it's helpful to know what's community property and what's separate property. There are steps you can take before a divorce to designate your separate property as yours. As anyone who has spent any time in Texas knows, Texas is a community property state. In the event of a divorce, the presumption is that all property owned at the time of divorce is community property. If one spouse wants to claim property as separate property, they must establish it as … [Read more...]
Five Things to Know Before Your First Meeting with an Attorney
Before your first meeting with an attorney, knowing what to expect will help you determine if the attorney is the right one to help you settle your divorce. Coming in to see an attorney for an initial consultation can be overwhelming, especially in the context of a divorce or other personal family law matter. Knowing what to expect before that first meeting can help alleviate those fears and make the meeting much more productive. First, know that anything that you say to the attorney in the … [Read more...]
Your Restructured Family’s Team, For Life
When a collaborative divorce team is assembled for you, you have the option of reassembling them, should you need to modify your initial decree. Dawn Budner and Carla Calabrese, partners at Calabrese Huff, recently appeared on the Jeff Crilley Show (on 1190 Talk Radio in Dallas) to talk about collaborative divorce and its evolution in Texas. They made a number of great points throughout the interview, including some interesting takes on the collaborative divorce team. Budner highlighted … [Read more...]
Sometimes, It’s Cruel to Be Kind
People in divorce go through the grieving process at different paces — which can sometimes make for even the most well-intentioned act of kindness seem cruel. Often in my practice I see couples who want an “amicable” divorce. While this means different things to different people, at the very least, it means that they want to end their marriage in a way that allows them to function well as co-parents, and they would like to respect each other at the end of the process. That’s all well and … [Read more...]
Child Support: Modification and Enforcement
If you’re in Texas and looking to modify child support or conservatorship, or if you’re wondering how to enforce your current child support order or conservatorship, we can provide some guidance per the Texas Family Code. In my previous article on child support, I discussed how child support works under the Texas Family Code, as well as how collaborative divorce approaches child support from the perspective of what’s best for the individual family. To fully understand how child support … [Read more...]
