I just attended the Annual Conference of the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation (NYSCDM) where I heard the keynote speaker, Forrest (Woody) Mosten, discuss “47 Things” every mediator should know or do. One [...]
In the not-too-distant past, most custody agreements provided that the children would live with mom, and dad would enjoy “visitation” on alternate weekends, and perhaps one evening each week. But nowadays I am seeing more [...]
While I guess it should not surprise me, I see many court cases that deal with a parent who is so angry with his or her former (or soon-to-be former) spouse that they allow that [...]
In divorce mediation, when someone examines his or her BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) they are looking at both the best and worst outcomes if their dispute were to be decided by a [...]
In my mediation practice I often encounter couples who arrive at my office in different places emotionally. One of them is ready to end the marriage while the other is still hoping it can be [...]
A few years after Paul’s second marriage ended in divorce, he retired and when he did he met with a financial planner to plan his retirement. He set up a retirement account and named his [...]
In my previous blog we discussed whether or not a mediator is required to screen for domestic violence and determined that it was indeed required by the Model Standards. We now turn to what the [...]
Part I: Screening In a response to a recent Blog post a reader, who was a certified mediator, asked if mediators are generally screening for domestic violence. She also offered that mediation may be “unsafe” [...]
I recently read that divorce is 75% emotional and only 25% legal and financial. In fact I suspect the emotional component is often what makes it difficult to resolve the legal and financial part. However, [...]
"Think before you take that Guilt Trip." Joe and Mary had been having marital difficulties for some time when they were referred to me by their marriage counselor. Though Joe did not agree, Mary had [...]
