Last weekend I went to a family law reform conference just to hear what parents from many parts of the USA would say. What they said was disturbing.   The conference was hosted by the Director of Divorce Corp, a documentary about the fifty billion dollars per year divorce industry in this country. Obviously the parents […]

    Little stories can be fun and educational. Working with a different mediator (not a member of our group), one couple had signed an agreement with a detailed schedule describing when their child would spend time with each parent. During the next year or two, each thought the other was violating the agreement over

by Guest Author Elinor Robin, Ph.D. with editing by Virginia L Colin, Ph.D.   41. Children of any age may be hesitant to spend time with a parent for a variety of reasons. Both parents should encourage the child to go with the other parent at the times scheduled for that parent. 42. If you

by Guest Author Joe Dillon If you’re contemplating a divorce and thinking about mediating, you may be thinking it all sounds too good to be true. After all, there has to be a reason why people hire lawyers and spend years of their lives battling in court and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in the

  In many cases, you can save thousands of dollars by having a mediator help you and your former partner resolve as much as possible in mediation. A mediator’s area of expertise is facilitating communication – helping both parties say clearly what matters to them and why, hear what matters to the other person and

  Many people still think divorce must be handled through attorneys and litigation. A large number of experts disagree. Deborah Moskovitch recently summarized some of their recommendations in a Huffington Post article. Here, with Deborah’s permission, is a shortened, edited version of what she wrote. Sources and citations appear at the end of this post.

  This is easy to do. If you love your child, you may want to do the opposite of things on this list. Do not attend court hearings about custody or visitation. Ignore requests to meet with your child’s Guardian ad Litem (the lawyer appointed by a judge to learn about your child and make

by Guest Author Elinor Robin, Ph.D. with a little editing by Virginia L Colin, Ph.D. 31. Consider occasionally separating your children in order to give each parent some individual time with each child. 32. Introduce your child to neighborhood children she can play with at her second home. 33. Consider holding monthly family meetings, with a rotating chair,

Everyone who is considering divorce should see this movie. Most of them should then run away from litigious lawyers and  find good professional family mediators to work with. Here are links to trailers from the film: The Price of Divorce, All Powerful Judges   One organization that is assisting people with quick, inexpensive divorces is