Trust Issues and Moving Forward

When a love affair goes bad a jilted party often wants to reduce his or her feelings to writing as a way of processing the experience.  Some people then burn these letters, or file them away.  Of course, there are those who drop them in the mail or hit “send” once they are written.  Occasionally,ContinueContinue reading “Trust Issues and Moving Forward”

How All the Pieces Fit

What is a successful divorce?  In my opinion, it has nothing to do with accumulated assets, properties, alimony, or support payments.  It has everything to do with an ability to carry forward the best parts of the person you married while being able to walk away from the parts that don’t work for you.  WhenContinueContinue reading “How All the Pieces Fit”

Successful Divorces

I have written before what a successful divorce is not.  It is not accumulated assets, properties, alimony, or support payments.  I am always trying to pinpoint what does define a successful divorce, so I can help my clients keep that as the goal in their minds. It begins with taking an inventory of the bestContinueContinue reading “Successful Divorces”

Stay Positive and Determine Your Own Happiness

I recently spent the day with a friend I have known for decades.  She lives a few states away and I was unable to help in her divorce, other than to cheer her on from the sidelines.  The husband was ruthless and my dear friend is still reeling, and doing her best to keep aContinueContinue reading “Stay Positive and Determine Your Own Happiness”

What are the Differences Between Divorce, Legal Separation, and Just Being Separated?

A legal term for divorce is “Dissolution of Marriage,” meaning that once the marriage is dissolved, it ceases to exist.  Once a couple divorces, they are each single and unmarried. They are then free to come and go as they wish, marry someone else, or not, and have control of their own adult lives. OnceContinueContinue reading “What are the Differences Between Divorce, Legal Separation, and Just Being Separated?”

Day of Divorce Situations

Is it a good idea to go out with your ex-spouse during the first hour you are exes?  I have two stories – one in favor and one against.  See which situation is most similar to your own before you decide. Kris and John divorced with no kids, no debts, a good profit on theirContinueContinue reading “Day of Divorce Situations”

Don’t Let Divorce Define You

Yesterday, once again, I left the courthouse beaming with pride at what my clients have accomplished.  We sat in the courtroom most of the morning waiting until the judge could take our uncontested divorce action.  We waited through status conferences in which people fought over what date they would exchange financial information.  We sat throughContinueContinue reading “Don’t Let Divorce Define You”

Crazy is a relative term, so is normal

Question 1:  When is it, in the divorce process, that one parent finally gets to teach the other parent the right way of parenting? Question 2:  When in the divorce process does a judge finally tell one parent that he or she must act more like the other parent? Question 3:  How many months intoContinueContinue reading “Crazy is a relative term, so is normal”

Are you Ready or Hesitant?

Marriage affords people certain benefits.  There are compromises and pay-offs that married people balance and weigh all of the time.  It might actually be impossible to spend decades living with another fully-functioning adult and never get on each others nerves.  We are talking about marriage between human beings, after all.Divorce happens when those compromises noContinueContinue reading “Are you Ready or Hesitant?”

The Cost of Divorce

“How long will this take, and how much is it going to cost me?” This is a question divorce attorneys frequently hear from their clients.  Sometimes it is a question regarding an aspect of the divorce – such as a custody modification, or the entire divorce.  It is an interesting question. First, there are someContinueContinue reading “The Cost of Divorce”