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If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably toying with the idea of keeping your divorce from becoming a five alarm fire. A very smart idea – if you can get your spouse to go along. It can save you a fortune and you can reach a settlement you crafted-not an overpaid lawyer (or two). The
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It’s that time of year again to make sure that the holiday parenting schedule for your children that you worked out in your divorce judgment with your ex is still on track. As I’ve said in the past, it’s not a good idea to call your divorce lawyer on Christmas Eve and demand that he/she
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If you plan on getting a divorce or already have one, then you better check with your local social security office about some new rules Congress put into place that affect the benefits you will receive. There are two filing strategies used by married couples to enhance their joint benefit amount that are being phased
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So you would like to mediate your divorce, but you think you’ll have a hard time convincing your spouse to go along. I’m assuming he or she is ready to end the marriage as well and having a conversation about how to do it won’t be a surprise. Here are some opening lines that might
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Today is December 26th. Unfortunately this is the first day of a 10 day surge in online searches for information about divorce. So says an article in last Sunday’s New York Times. If you’re reading this blog then you’re among the group making that search. Naturally, my advice is to consider Mediation over contested divorce
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This is just a quick reminder. If you have a judgment of divorce or a settlement agreement that sets out in detail the Christmas and winter break schedule for the children, then you need to confirm with your ex NOW that he/she is not arbitrarily changing your parenting time and taking the kids away for
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Just recently I had a husband call who wanted to mediate his divorce rather than have a court fight. His wife agreed and we set up an initial mediation session. A divorce suit had not been filed yet, and the parties were going to file on their own. Unfortunately, the wife told someone of their
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Way back in June, I promised to tell you what my survey of divorce attorneys and mediators revealed to be the most important traits and skills of a good mediator. Naturally, I got a long list. Here are some of the items listed: integrity, trustworthiness, knowledgeable, “be prepared”, “be respectful”, compatible, respectful of confidentiality, neutral
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As I told you in Part I of this series, (see my May 18,2014 blog), there is more to being a mediator than spending innumerable hours in a classroom learning the basics. Mediating successfully requires a number of personal skills and characteristics that aren’t developed in an academic setting. So, what are the important skills?
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It seems these days that everyone I know wants to be a mediator. That’s fine. Mediation is a more civilized way to resolve disputes, including divorce and elder care family problems, than a knock-down, dragged out court battle. As a West Michigan mediator I’ve had the opportunity to participate in excellent training programs at both