What’s New and Happening
If you’re like me, every once in a while you just want to shake things up – do something different. Say what you want to say, but send out the message in a new way. The way I decided to do just that, is to take our chat about improving relationships and celebrating marriage to...
7 Things Your Divorce Lawyer Wants You to Know
Divorce is rarely easy and rarely cheap. But there are things you can do to make the process less difficult and less expensive. After two decades of practicing Family Law and hearing other Family Law attorneys express concern (read: complain) about the same things, I’ve compiled a short list of things your divorce lawyer wants...
Divorce: How You Can Help a Friend Going Through It
Often when we hear about a friend or loved one getting a divorce, we just don’t know what to say or do. We want to be supportive, encouraging, helpful – but struggle with being presumptuous or intrusive in our attempts to offer assistance. Recently I was invited to speak at a Stephen Ministry meeting when...
Child Custody: 5 FAQs Answered
Child custody battles are often the most difficult part of divorce proceedings. Property can be divided or sold, debts can be assigned to one party or the other, but how custody/visitation plans are structured is much more complex. As mothers and fathers contemplate divorce or (if not married to each other) paternity actions, they often...
Should Children go to Jail for Refusing to Visit a Parent?
Should children go to jail for refusing to have a relationship with one of their divorced parents? That’s close to what happened recently in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Oakland County Circuit Judge Lisa Gorcyca, seeming to be at her wit’s end with three children, ages 14, 10 and 9, who refused to comply with her order to...
Divorcing Parents, Listen to the Judge
In case you’re wondering whether or not judges care about the orders they issue regarding your children, I’m here to tell you that, from what I have seen in over two decades of practicing Family Law, most of them do. That’s not to say they’re not thoughtful about the rulings that affect you and your...
10 Things NOT to Say to the Friend Who Doesn’t Want the Divorce
We want to show compassion for friends who tell us they are getting a divorce, but often we don’t know how to respond. It’s especially difficult when it’s clear they don’t want the divorce – that the choice was made by their spouse. Often the first thing that pops into our head – an unvarnished...
5 Tips From a Family Mediator for Your Divorce Mediation
Divorce is tough enough without having to endure a public battle and reliving all the strife in a courtroom. An alternative to that knock-down-drag-out trial is mediation – the process of both parties sitting down with a trained individual who can help you arrive at agreements that best suit your circumstances. I’m not saying it’s...
The ME in Mediation – a New Perspective
Just when I thought I knew all there was to know about mediation, I learned something new. I know that mediation, the process of resolving legal issues with the assistance of someone trained to help warring parties find creative solutions, is often better for divorcing spouses than having a trial. I have served as a...
Divorce: Property Division 101
Dividing up property that was accrued during marriage is one more difficult issue that has to be dealt with during divorce. Understanding how the judge would do it and what your options are for doing it without the judge’s intervention can make a difficult task a little less difficult. In spite of the fact that...
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