10 Ways to ROCK Being a Long-Distance Parent
After divorce, it’s often difficult for both parent and child when one household becomes two. The child sees each parent less, each parent sees the child less. Add in relocation of one parent to the mix, and a tough situation gets tougher. Not only do the parents have to figure out how transportation is going...
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...
Children and Divorce – How it SHOULD Be
I have written plenty about what parents do during divorce that negatively impacts their children. So I am delighted to give you some input about, and a wonderful example of, putting children first in spite of the parent’s divorce. Judge Robert Davis shared an anecdote a few years back that left me feeling compelled to...
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...
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...
How to AFFAIR-PROOF Your Marriage
In my Family Law practice, I see the results of extramarital affairs on a regular basis. A wife stunned that her husband and best friend had been meeting behind her back. A husband sent reeling when his wife leaves him for his brother. A spouse having midnight chats with an ex-flame on Facebook. Suspicions confirmed...
17 Things Teachers Want to Tell Divorced Parents
Teachers can be a Guardian Ad Litem’s best friend. When I represent a child whose parents are going through a custody battle, charged with the duty of investigating for the purposes of making recommendations to the Judge about custody and visitation, I look forward to talking to the child’s teacher. After reviewing all the court...
2014: And the Winner Is . . .
I’m always intrigued by the BEST and WORST lists that abound this time of year. What worked over the past 365 days and what didn’t. What made us smile and what made us cry. What we ran to the movies to see and what we ran from. What new toys were hits and what were...
What Children Want Their Divorced Parents to Know About the Holidays
Children anticipate the holidays eagerly – gifts, special food, no school – what’s not to like? They are often oblivious to the stress adults may experience this time of year. Unless they have to divide their holidays between two warring parents. Nothing sucks the joy out of the season for a child faster than having...