Can We Still Be Friends (after Divorce)?

from Song by Todd Rundgren, 1978 If you’ve had enough birthdays, you may remember this 70’s song by Todd Rundgren. He poses a question that comes up at the end of relationships. Maybe, if we can still be friends, it will soften the blow, lessen the pain. A more...

When Do I Introduce My Kids to My New Girlfriend/Boyfriend?

You are getting a divorce and you want to move on with your life.  You are eager to introduce your kids to your new partner, and you are wondering when is the right time.  This is one of those questions of “What is in the children’s best interest?”  It is important to...

Making Sense of Those Divorce Legal Forms, Part 1

Filing a petition for dissolution of marriage (divorce) simply opens a file at the courthouse and gives you a file number to use in the future. Nothing else will ever happen if no one files anything further. In fact in many counties, the court is obligated to close the case if no one files anything else within a 3-5-year period.

Dating After Divorce: Blending Families

About six months after you met, you agreed it was time to meet each other’s children. You know it is not easy for children to allow a new adult into their lives so you want to be as careful as possible. You expect your ex-husband will not take it well that you are in a new relationship, however, you know it is better to tell him before you introduce the children to your new partner.

Will I Have to Pay Spousal Support?

We discussed using a Collaborative Divorce process where Julie is separately represented by a Collaboratively-trained attorney with prior experience on various spousal support outcomes. We could involve mutually agreed upon mental health coaches and/or neutral financial professionals to look at emotional concerns and property division settlement options. This would save them both the cost of hiring different experts to testify in court at $500 or more an hour, while also paying their litigation attorneys’ fees to cross-examine each expert, and waiting 90 days for the judge to make a ruling. And the ruling could be quite unfavorable.