Last year, one of our regular mental health professional contributors, Carol Mapp, wrote a column talking about tips for helping kids with two homes and their parents manage the transition from summer to the new school year. For those families that have just experienced divorce, there may also be a new school in the mix, and it can be a whole lot of change to kids to absorb. Here, once again, as many Texas children return to school this week, is Carol's column. It's full of wonderful advice for … [Read more...]
The Ex-Files: How and Why to Get Along with Your Former Mate
This guest article comes courtesy of Joan Norton, J.D., with www.txparent.com, a Austin-based website offering a 4-hour online parent education class that equips separated and divorcing parents with problem-solving skills to end conflict, positively co-parent children in two homes, and help their children adjust to divorce. If you have children, divorce changes rather than ends the relationship you share. Your happiness now rests on making your divorce succeed even if your marriage failed. … [Read more...]
It Takes Two (Lawyers) To Make Collaborative Divorce Work
Norma Trusch, a regular contributor to this blog, felt it was worth it for us to link to this excellent (and heartbreaking) article from the King County Collaborative Law website. Trusch notes, “Kevin’s experience is one that experienced family lawyers run into on a regular basis. No matter how sincerely you want to settle a case peacefully, it takes two – and an ‘old school’ lawyer on the other side can often persuade a malleable client that their adversarial approach will bring about a … [Read more...]
Email Communication: Tips For Newly Divorced Co-Parents
This article is from Carol Mapp, LCSW, an Arlington-based therapist with Integrated Healthworks. Respectful communication is the cornerstone of a successful co-parenting relationship. Respect entails relating to others the way you want to be related to – with attention, kindheartedness and thoughtfulness. When you are respectful, you are mindful, courteous and patient. Email can be a useful tool when parenting children in two homes. However, it has the potential to negatively affect … [Read more...]
Was Abraham Lincoln A Collaborative Lawyer?
One of our favorite blog posts of late comes from Norma Trusch, a Houston-based collaborative lawyer who's not only a founding Collaborative Law Institute of Texas member and former board member, but is also a regular contributor to this blog. She reports on a recent talk from the author, at The Divorce Expo -- a conference held earlier this year in Detroit -- noting Abraham Lincoln's thoughts on family law and the need for collaboration. The article looks at the quote and ponders if Lincoln was … [Read more...]
How Your Divorce Can Expose Your Political Contributions: A Cautionary Tale
This article is from Tracy Stewart, a financial professional based in College Station specializing in collaborative divorce, and a Collaborative Law Institute of Texas board member, whose credentials include CPA/PFS/CFF, CFP and CDFA. Until recently, I never truly understood the big deal about keeping a divorce out of the court records. Maybe that’s because I am just a bean counter. I had a hard time imagining why anyone in their right mind would slog through someone else’s old divorce records … [Read more...]
Telling Kids About Divorce
We're happy to report that another Collaborative Law Institute of Texas member is contributing to the Huffington Post, on its often-intriguing Divorce Channel. Linda Solomon, who is a Dallas-based, collaboratively-trained Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, as well as a former board member of our organization, co-wrote a recent article on the site addressing divorce and kids. Specifically, the article details five tips for telling your kids that you … [Read more...]
What Divorcing Couples Should Know About IRS Publication 504
People looking for information on divorce, particularly collaborative divorce and divorce in Texas, can go to a particularly helpful page on the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas website, featuring a number of resources for divorcing couples in Texas. The latest of these comes from Jeffrey B. Thomas, J.D./CIMA®/CDFA®, a Dallas-based Certified Private Wealth Advisor and Financial Advisor with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. He's contributed to the blog in the past, and in his latest … [Read more...]
Being Alone Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Lonely
This article is from Carol Mapp, LCSW, an Arlington-based therapist with Integrated Healthworks. The life-altering changes that occur in relationships during a divorce can produce a variety of feelings. One common feeling that individuals who are divorcing experience is loneliness. There may be times during the transition of divorce in which individuals may feel lonely, even among others in a familiar setting, without really understanding why. There are a few common misperceptions about … [Read more...]
Children, Divorce and Holidays: Part Two
This blog article (the first of a two-part article) is from Syd Sharples, LCSW, an Austin-based Mental Health Professional (MHP) and therapist in Austin. She sits on the Board of the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas. There is an emotional aspect to every experience we have, and the holidays are no exception. Make it your goal to create a supportive emotional environment for your children at this time. If they are feeling sad, don't try to jolly them out of their funk. Instead, validate … [Read more...]
