How to Lose Custody
{2:24 minutes to read} The law with regard to custody is fairly simple to recite. A court will award custody to the parent it feels has the “best interest” of a child in mind. I [...]
Ode to Dale
My friend Dale died the other day. He was 45 years old, had a wife and a job that he loved, and suddenly he was gone. I was talking and joking around with him on [...]
The Three Legged Stool of Divorce
I have often thought that there are three components that need to be addressed when a couple is ending their marriage: Legal Financial Emotional All three need to be managed during a divorce or a [...]
What’s Your BATNA? The Legal vs. the Emotional Divorce – Part 2
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 [...]
Emotional vs Legal Divorce
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 [...]
Can You Afford to Leave?
In a recent blog I talked about a client who was worried that he would be “charged” with abandonment if he left the marital home before he had a legal separation or divorce. I outlined [...]
Divorce Mediation and Domestic Violence
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 [...]
The Emotional Divorce
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, [...]