One of the most common concerns parents have as they approach divorce and separation is this: “What should we tell the kids, and how should we tell them?” Telling your children that you are separating or getting divorced can cause enormous feelings of guilt and sadness in parents. Parents are also understandably concerned that their kids will feel pain, anger or confusion, and parents often want to shield their children from these feelings. I can certainly understand … [Read more...]
Parenting Planning: Things to Be Aware Of
When it comes time to begin building out your parenting plan, the possible combinations of choices are literally endless. Here are just some of the topics that you'll need to discuss and agree upon: Parenting time ratios - 50/50? 60/40?Parenting time logistics - which days are at whose home?How do we choose childcare providers in the future?How do we handle holidays? Which holidays do we care about?Who will be in charge of passports?Which parent will handle primary care … [Read more...]
What is Co-Parenting and Why Do You Have to Do It?
Having and raising children is a challenge. Having to co-parent children during separation or divorce can feel impossible. Children see and hear the sadness and anger taking place around them. Parents don’t always think about what is in the best interests of the children, because they are so hurt or upset by their own pain. Teaching parents to focus on what is truly best for the children is why most courts mandate parenting classes, in order to encourage more effective co-parenting. So, … [Read more...]
Divorce: Dividing the House and Other Assets
Psychiatrists and psychologists rank divorce as the second most stressful life event behind the death of a spouse. In a divorce, one of the most frustrating parts of the process involves the division of the family’s assets. Both spouses are concerned about how they will stretch the finances that have supported one household to now support two. One of the biggest pieces of the financial puzzle is “Who gets the house in a divorce?” In traditional divorce litigation, the focus is often on, … [Read more...]
The Three Most Important Decisions Before You File For Divorce
As a Collaborative Divorce Attorney, I have witnessed the sheer agony experienced by those I have served in making the decision to divorce. I have learned just how important it is to finally and fully decide it is the right time to uncouple in the right way. The first and most important decision is not a legal one at all. Whether you are the spouse who is the one leaving or the one left behind, … [Read more...]
Child Custody Disputes-The Saddest Battle
One of my favorite assignments as a board-certified family lawyer was being chosen by a family court judge to represent a child whose parents were divorcing. The reason the courts appoint attorneys for children whose parents cannot agree on post-divorce care and custodial arrangements, is to protect the children from the worst aspects of their parents’ dispute and to give them a voice in the process. It was a gratifying job, but a frustrating … [Read more...]
For Divorce with Special Needs Children–Collaborative Divorce is the Better Option
April is “Autism Acceptance Month.” Prior to 2021, this acknowledgement was called “Autism Awareness Month,” but as we have begun to learn more about autism and what it means to be “on the spectrum” of autism, we have learned that being on that spectrum is like a rainbow–there are many variations of abilities and inabilities, challenges and yet special gifts that people on the spectrum bring to our world and the families in which they live. One Texas Rehabilitation … [Read more...]
The Financial Challenges of Divorcing in Difficult Economic Times
The process and outcomes of divorce are always multifaceted and difficult, even in the best of economic times. When a couple divorces, they are divorcing emotionally, socially, legally and of course, financially. Depending on the timing of one’s divorce, these areas of divorce can produce problems that are particularly challenging relative to other times one might divorce. When a couple chooses to collaborate in the context of a Collaborative Divorce, they are … [Read more...]
The Wisters and the Role of a Financial Professional in their Collaborative Divorce
This fictional profile gives insight to the role that a Financial Advisor plays as a neutral in the Collaborative Divorce process. The Collaborative Divorce process is an alternative process to a traditional courtroom divorce. The process involves the divorcing parties, their legal representatives, a Mental Health Professional and a Financial Professional. The Mental Health and Financial Professionals are neutrals in the process – neither specifically associated with … [Read more...]
Five Self-Care Tips for Clients During a Divorce
Divorce is often described as one of the most stressful events of any person’s life, right up there with the death of a loved one. And it is the “death” of a relationship which was initially intended to last a lifetime. Even for the spouse who has decided the relationship should be over, divorce can be extremely stressful. So, how can the stress and emotional damage be decreased? 1. Acceptance As soon as you know the … [Read more...]
