Collaborative Law Institute Blog – Family Law Attorneys & Professionals
Investing in your Child’s Future: Divorce Process Matters
Having recently become a grandparent for the first time, I am pondering the future with renewed urgency that my granddaughter’s legacy be one of hope and abundance. As she grows, there is no way to prevent the pain of grief and loss, the challenge of change or...
Reasons to Have an Attorney in Divorce
While it is possible to file for divorce in Minnesota on your own, without legal representation, it can be difficult to manage, not only legally but also emotionally. Here are some reasons to have an attorney and NOT try and represent yourself: When you represent...
Mom and Dad on the Same Team
A family with whom I am privileged to work on their Collaborative divorce gave me consent to tell this story. A few weeks after completing the two meetings with me that are a typical part of my child-inclusive parenting plan process, a teenager (I’ll call him...
Death and Divorce
Recently a young child in my neighborhood lost his life. Beyond the balloon releases, meal chains and prayers, a lot of neighborhood conversation quickly switched to wondering if the parent’s marriage can survive such heartache. This led me to do a bit of research on...
Charities: What You Give vs. How Much You Give
The holiday season is when many people do a significant portion of their charitable giving for the year. Once you have decided which charitable organization to support and how much, you should also consider how to give that support. What I am getting at is that you...
Kids Notice Collaborative Divorce
I have practiced law for almost 15 years. As a collaborative divorce attorney and mental health professional, I fundamentally believe my non-adversarial approach is better for children. The outcomes protect children’s best interests and provides them the best...
Boomer Divorce: The New Divorce Issues Faced by People Over 50
The most significant increase in divorces nationwide has been among baby boomers, essentially those people born between 1945 and 1965. That is not terribly surprising given the high number of people in this age range. However, it does present new dynamics to divorce...
Letting go of the Life You Had Once Imagined
No one imagines they will find themselves single, divorced, and living in a 4 bedroom house in the suburbs alone, and then it happens. So what do you do when you wake up and realize that your life is not at all what you ever imagined it would be? How do you “cope” and...
Low Cost, High Quality Divorce the Collaborative Way
As a neutral child specialist, I believe Collaborative Practice should be available to all families who want a child-focused, respectful, out-of-court divorce process. However, a critique often made of Collaborative Practice is how unaffordable it must be for...
Keeping Children out of the Middle
A core value of Collaborative Team Practice is keeping children at the center and out of the middle. But what does this mean? Why this is distinction important? It is because divorcing parents are writing the life story their children will tell. Mindfully keeping...
