Collaborative Law Institute Blog – Family Law Attorneys & Professionals
Adjusting the Tension
…easier said than done. The tension to which I refer is the tension inherent in maintaining a balance between keeping our children secure, making sure they have a safety net while simultaneously maintaining enough distance that we are able to accommodate their...
5 Financial Decisions in Gray Divorce You Can’t Take Back
Divorce after 50 involves a different set of financial stakes than divorce earlier in life. There’s less runway to rebuild retirement savings, more complexity in how assets have grown over decades, and often a spouse who has been out of the workforce far longer...
What Will That Low Interest Rate Mortgage Really Cost You?
One of the biggest mistakes we see during a divorce is trying to protect a low interest rate at all costs. At first, it sounds like the obvious choice. But let’s see what it really costs. The Situation In 2020, you purchased a home with a $350,000 mortgage on a...
Feel Stuck During Divorce? How Divorce Coaching Can Help Collaborative Divorce
Collaborative Divorce is intended to help families resolve conflict and move forward without the emotional and financial cost of litigation. Attorneys, financial professionals, and mental health neutrals all have vital roles in helping clients. However, if...
Independence Day
July in Minnesota is the best! The craziness of June slows a bit, and the summer, as we think of it here in the Midwest, kicks in to high-gear: it’s hot and humid, you have to constantly weed your garden, and the #1 thing to talk about is…the forecast, whether it’s...
(RE)LEARNING THE SEVEN POWERS OF PLAY – PART 3
In Part 1, we discussed how children seem to know how to play, yet they develop important skills through play. In Part 2, we identified and explored the seven skills children develop through play. As a refresher, those skills are: Creative thinking – to consider and...
Navigating the House During Divorce in Today’s Higher Interest Rate Environment – The Impact of Rising Mortgage Rates
In January of 2022, mortgage interest rates began their sharpest increase since the early 1980s. While this has not only increased the monthly cost of a mortgage payment for the same loan amount, the severity of the increase has had a lock-in effect for people with...
The Good News About Being Part of the Problem
I hear some version of this almost every week: “I’ve tried everything. Nothing works. I don’t think it even matters.” The person sitting across from me is genuinely exhausted. Not “we had a rough month” exhausted. I mean battle-worn, hope-thinning,...
(RE)LEARNING THE SEVEN POWERS OF PLAY – PART 2
In Part 1, we talked about how kids just seem to know how to play, and consequently, they develop important skills through play. As previously mentioned, the Minnesota Children’s Museum in St. Paul has an exhibit, “Seven Powers of Play” where kids create, tinker, and...
Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: Creating Healthy Boundaries for Peaceful Co-Parenting
As a little kid growing up in my small town, I remember being a bit confused by the saying, “good fences make good neighbors.” Almost nobody bothered with fences in my neighborhood except to keep the critters out of their gardens, and everyone seemed neighborly...
