Providing Financial Information for Negotiated Divorces discussing finances by guest author Larry Gaughan In Court, “discovery” is the way lawyers formally require parties to provide information and documents. In divorce cases discovery can be a wasteful and frustrating process. At...
Our Mission sisters Colin Family Mediation Group (CFMG) has seven certified, professional family mediators ready to help families in Virginia resolve disagreements and stay out of court. Our primary mission is to help family members solve problems. We can help...
Title: From The Simple To The Complex, Mediation Can Help by Guest Author Joe Dillon dividing house ownership? If you’re contemplating a divorce and thinking about mediating, you may be thinking it all sounds too good to be true. After all,...
Why I Became a Family Mediator by Virginia L Colin, Ph.D. The short version? It’s a calling. Here is the longer version: My first clue about what I should be doing came late in the 1990′s, when I learned...
Advantages of Mediation When Divorcing handshake 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...
Parents, Teachers, and Politics American flag We need to teach our children how to participate in civil discussions about topics they disagree about, including things that matter a lot to them. This is critical to the future health of our...
Do You Need a Pre-Nuptual Agreement? wedding kiss A friend asked me for advice about talking with his lady love about a prenuptial agreement. My first response was that every couple contemplating marriage should talk about money. Financial issues can...
That’s a Lie! angry woman It is a phrase I hear often. Often the person who says it appears to be angry or scornful. Usually the other person becomes angry or defensive. The phase interferes with constructive communication. “That’s a...
Frustrations of a Family Mediator baby’s face 1. I cannot fix everything for everybody. People have the personalities, anxieties, hostilities, and blind spots that they have, and I cannot always get them to think and speak from the best parts...
Tips for Negotiating Successfully, Part 2 You can find Part 1, with the first ten tips, on this page. 11. Begin by asking for more than you want. This is my least favorite advice to give. It grates against my...