Last weekend, the Dallas Morning News published an article by writer Wayne Slater, which examined the life story of Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, including her two divorces. Included among the many opinion pieces sprung from that initial article were revelations about Davis' second divorce to Jeff Davis in 2003 -- a divorce in Jeff Davis was awarded custody of her youngest daughter and Wendy Davis agreed to pay child support. This revelation surprised a great number of observers, … [Read more...]
Unhitched: New York Times Series Explores Divorce
The New York Times, noting that one in four divorces in the United States today involves people over 50, has launched a new series called "Unhitched" that features couples' divorce stories and related columns from counselors. In one recent article from the series, a Pennsylvania couple unflinchingly shares the story of their marriage and divorce, including advice on how to handle the divorce based on their experience. The New York Times, as part of its Booming series on this segment of the … [Read more...]
Collaborative Law Institute of Texas Announces New Mission and Vision Statements
As part of ongoing efforts to develop awareness of collaborative law in Texas -- and to highlight the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas' role in making more Texans aware of the advantages of collaborative law -- the organization has created a revised mission and vision statements. The statements have been revised to more accurately depict how the 10-year-old organization has evolved in its education about and practice of collaborative law. The new statements, findable on the CLI-TX website, … [Read more...]
Mexico’s Short-Term Marriage: More Like Our Pre-Nuptial Agreement Than You Might Think
Christopher Michael Farish is a collaboratively trained family law attorney who works as an associate at the firm of Quaid & Quaid, LLC. Chris is a past three-term president of the Collaborative Professionals of Dallas, the President of the Collin County Young Lawyers Association, and has served on special committees for CLI-TX and IACP. Some of you may have seen this article on Reuters.com a couple of weeks ago. Essentially, the government in Mexico City is considering a law allowing … [Read more...]
Arnold, Maria, and Collaborative Divorce
The recent news about divorce proceedings starting up between one of America’s most famous couples – Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver – now includes input from Collaborative Law Institute of Texas board member Tracy Stewart, who was quoted in this CNNMoney article which ran this past Friday: The story focused on Schwarzenegger’s wealth – tied, of course, to his film career and subsequent investments. Stewart had a number of observations for the reporter beyond what could fit in the story … [Read more...]
What Advice We’d Give Tiger Woods (If We Were Asked)
First of all, as fans of Tiger Woods, we find his current predicament regrettable. While we recognize that our society is curious about the lives of public figures -- especially those as well-known as Tiger -- we understand how much harder his current situation is, given that he's being tried in the court of public opinion. We don't expect that Tiger will call us up and ask for our advice. We hope that he's able to work things out with his wife and not have to go through the painful … [Read more...]
On Gay Marriage and Divorce in Texas
In the past week, Texas has unexpectedly become the epicenter for an interesting debate regarding gay marriage -- specifically, what happens when married same-sex couples want to divorce. In Judge Tena Callahan's view, a gay couple who was married in another state and now lives in Dallas has the right to get divorced. While the case brings up interesting issues around the Constitutionality of marriage bans and the growing number of states allowing for same-sex marriage, it also brings up a … [Read more...]
