Newsflash: There’s life after divorce.
Posted in Child Support, Divorce, Financial, Mediation, Parenting on Dec 16th, 2009
Do your financial homework before divorce is a recommendation that I can’t repeat often enough. While the piece was written by a CPA rather than an attorney, it’s got some helpful general advice, including thinking through the following questions before meeting with an attorney:
If you have children, what are your wishes regarding custody, visitation, and [...]
Posted in Child Support, Divorce, Parenting on Nov 19th, 2009
Here is a New York Times story about fathers who have opted for DNA testing to get a definitive answer as to whether they are truly the fathers of the children they believe are theirs. Particularly with divorcing families, and the requirement that parents support “their” children financially, this raises some tough issues. Read the [...]
Here in the Puget Sound area, many of the local counties require that parents in family law cases take a class to help them see things from the perspective of a child in the process, with the goal being that parents will know what to do to help their family successfully navigate the transition they’re [...]
I remember when the “Dummies” book series first came out. I worked at a bookstore, and it did seem puzzling to me that consumers would be interested in a book whose title seemed to belittle their intelligence. However, now that the series has been out for over a decade, I do respect the authors’ ability [...]
Posted in Divorce, Domestic Partnership, Parenting on Aug 20th, 2009
This story in the Chicago Tribune is about a six-week long class for divorced or separating parents, aimed at helping them focus on what’s best for their children. (Seattle’s King County requires parents to attend a four-hour class…I can only imagine what it would take to put together a six-week long class.) It’s great to [...]
Posted in Divorce, Domestic Partnership, Parenting on Aug 17th, 2009
“Americans Marry Too Much” is the title of this story on Newsweek.com. Andrew Cherlin, a sociologist at Johns Hopkins University, has written a book entitled “The Marriage-Go-Round” that cites Americans’ divorce and remarriage as the cause for disruption in their children’s lives because of a “revolving cast” of parents, step-parents and live-in significant others.
An interesting [...]
Posted in Parenting on Aug 14th, 2009
This is a pretty amazing essay by a woman who managed to keep her head on straight despite hearing some of the saddest words one can imagine. Her calm and collected approach worked–amazing.
Posted in Parenting on Aug 4th, 2009
The TodayShow.com has this story about mothers who are “relinquishing” custody. According to my favorite internet dictionary (www.m-w.com), to relinquish is to “withdraw from”, “give up” or “release”. The Today Show piece talks in terms of “retaining” custody. While custody is still in common use as a term, in Washington has embraced the concept of [...]
For the media sites I frequent, the “big” divorce news this week is that Jon and Kate Gosselin (of “Jon & Kate Plus 8“) are divorcing. The New York Times has a short story about it here. The story’s lede comments that “TLC is hoping there is happiness–or at least, good ratings–after divorce.”
While divorce is [...]
The May 2009 issue of “O” magazine features a short story entitled “Divorce, Interrupted”. Print media has caught up with electronic media in reporting that the current economic climate is affecting couple’s decisions to separate. The piece, which offers advice for couples “stuck together in splitsville” offers a new term for the new economic challenge: [...]
As those who have had parenting matters in King County, Snohomish County or Pierce County know, many Washington counties have local rules that require proof of a parent’s attendance at a parenting seminar. In King County, the seminar is called “What About the Children?” and the goal is to have parents think about what’s going [...]
With this post, I’d like to commend James Cook on using his own loss as fuel to take action to make things better for children and parents.
While driving home the other week, I heard this story on NPR (National Public Radio) about the death of James Cook. Known as the father of “joint custody”, Cook [...]
Posted in Child Support, Divorce, Parenting on Feb 27th, 2009
Is a faster divorce a better divorce?
The “60 Minute Divorce” is a service being offered by a New York City law firm. The premise is that you and your spouse go to their offices, that you work with a lawyer who gathers your information, and after a 60-minute wait–during which you may choose to go [...]
Posted in Divorce, Financial, Mediation, Parenting on Feb 16th, 2009
Although the story isn’t new, I think it’s worth connecting back to a Washington Post story from December 2007 with tips for a good divorce. Here are the tips, all smart ideas and cost-effective ones:
1. Face facts.
2. But get second opinions…about your options and about the law.
3. Set the tone: Be rational and save the [...]