This week a reader sent me an email and asked the following question:

I’m interested in using the collaborative process for my divorce. The problem is, I can’t get my husband’s attention. He’s in total denial that this is happening, and just will not discuss it with me.  I am so ready to move forward with this. What can I do?

This is a great question and one I have just dealt with recently. My client, Mary, came to see me a few months ago for a consultation. We went over her situation and her options, and she clearly expressed an …

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While I have written extensively about collaborative divorce and compared it to all the divorce process options, like mediation, negotiation, and litigation, for me there is no better way to really get it than to see the differences laid out side by side.  So here are ten points, point by point, comparing collaborative divorce to litigation.

Looks like they are polar opposites, doesn’t it?  What do you think?

Collaborative Divorce:

Communication is open, honest, and shared.
There is no blaming and no fault finding.
The process is future focused – what do we want for ourselves and our children down the road?
The attitude is assertive.
Clients …

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In thinking about this week’s blog post, I reflected back on the last few weeks and a couple of court cases in which I was Guardian ad litem for the children. These cases were heart-breaking. Parents who, yes, said they wanted what was best for their children, and parents who, yes, certainly loved their children, but children who were showing signs of stress, anxiety, and sadness.  And this was a few years after the divorce, when things normally settle down for people.

There was definitely a disconnect here, and for the life of me, I could not get the parents to …

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If you are going through a divorce or even just thinking about it,  and you’re wondering how this will affect your children, I have some good news for you:  Your children do not have to be damaged by your divorce.  It is possible to divorce and raise healthy, well-adjusted, and balanced children.

I also have bad news for you:  Your children may be damaged by your divorce, but that will be entirely up to how you do it. Some people divorce in such a way that is detrimental to the well-being and emotional development of their children and some divorce in …

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