Couple holding broken heart

Newly Separated? Here Are Some Tips to Help You Through

When you first married your partner, the thought of getting divorced and what that life would look like most likely never crossed your mind. As you move through the early stages of your separation you may be faced with the realization that this next chapter in life is moving forward, whether you are ready for it or not. Utilizing a team of collaborative divorce professionals can help you move through this phase in your separation and be better prepared to face the future. When you choose the collaborative process, you and your spouse each have your own lawyers along with […]

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Little boy holding backpack.

Planning Ahead for a Successful School Year After Divorce

Divorce certainly changes a family in ways that can last a lifetime, and often the children bear the brunt in ways we can’t fully understand. Children do not raise their hand and say, “I am struggling, I am hurting, or I am so very sad or angry.” When children are struggling emotionally, it often shows up at school with behavior and academic changes. It’s like an iceberg, and the small tip is jutting out of the water while the massive formation lurks underneath – and this is where deep emotional issues and hurt lives. But as a parent, we want […]

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Person calculating finances with calculator

Tips for Maintaining Your Finances During Your Divorce

One thing is for sure, taking financial advice from your friends and family can be catastrophic to your financial landscape moving forward long after your divorce has been finalized. When you and your spouse choose to engage in the collaborative divorce process, financial professionals are ready to help understand your family’s financials privately, no matter how complex they are. When we meet with couples, our financial experts often like to share a few thoughts to help couples through the process. Here are a few: Don’t share your financial situation Decide early on what areas are non-negotiable – what can and […]

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Two-story home

What Property Are You Entitled To in a Short-Term Marriage?

When you first heard the wedding bells ring for you and your spouse, you felt your commitment to each other would last forever, for better or worse, right? Unfortunately, as you and your spouse shared a marital home, it quickly became abundantly clear that your marriage would not last and the best path forward would be to divorce. When couples divorce after being married for a short period, we often get questions regarding assets and property division. Here is what we often share with our clients about property division when the marriage has not been long-lived: From the first day […]

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ABD Retreats

In 2003, the Los Angeles County South Bay area collaborative practice group known as A Better Divorce began its continuing tradition of holding a retreat every two years.  The accompanying photo shows the group in 2003 participating in our first retreat. The key to an effective collaborative divorce process is trust, and the group recognized early on that a biennial retreat would be a key building block in establishing trust among the professionals in the group—the attorneys, financial consultants, and mental health professionals.  (Trust among ourselves is the foundation to establishing trust with our clients.)  It has proved true, and […]

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