What Newly Divorce Co-Parents Need to Know About the Holidays

The holidays can be a challenging time for newly divorced co-parents. With the right approach, you can navigate this season smoothly, especially when you can plan ahead with your co-parenting agreement before finalizing your divorce. This often gets overlooked in court-litigated divorces, but this is often worked out when you choose a collaborative divorce model. In a collaborative divorce process, where the focus is on cooperation rather than court battles, you’ll find the process more peaceful, leading to better outcomes for everyone involved, including your children. Here are some thoughts to keep in mind to help make the first year, […]

How Does Divorce Mediation Work?

If you and your partner are looking for a peaceful way to work through your divorce, mediation could be an option to consider. However, sometimes clients aren’t entirely clear on how the process works. With mediation, you and your spouse will have more control over decisions around child support, alimony, and dividing assets and debt. It’s also a more efficient and cost-effective approach to finalizing your divorce. You’ll typically meet with a neutral mediator two to three times over three to four months. During your first meeting, the mediator will work with you to clearly understand your financial situation and […]

Who Claims Head of Household When You Divorce?

With so many things to remember to have written into your divorce agreement, many separating couples forget to discuss with each other how their taxes will be impacted. When you and your spouse choose the collaborative divorce process, you are paired with a team of experts such as mental health, divorce coaches, professionals, attorneys, and financial neutrals. One of the roles the financial neutral plays is to speak to both of you about what your future will hold in regard to tax liabilities and what each person is expected to claim and not claim. One of the common questions is […]

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 […]

The Importance of a Financial Divorce Specialist

When you start the divorce process, it can be overwhelming. You may feel that every move you make complicates the situation that much more. One of the aspects of divorce that can be very overwhelming is how your financial landscape will be divided. When you and your spouse work with a collaborative divorce team, you will be supported by lawyers who agree to stay away from court-litigation as well as other divorce experts that can be available to you. The team may include a divorce coach, mental health professional, child specialist and financial specialist. The financial specialist is a valuable […]

How To Start Over Financially After Divorce?

When you find yourself separating from your marital partner, there are many things to consider. It can be overwhelming. And while it is overwhelming, you need to remind yourself to think with your head and not your heart to make sound decisions about your finances that will span your lifetime. Often when couples are divorcing, one partner may forgo their career to be a full-time parent while the other one works outside of the home. And when this happens, and divorce is the necessary solution, we often see that the person who remained at home during the marital courtship has […]

How to Share the Holidays with Your Children After Divorce

When you are in a family that has divorced or is in the process of divorcing, the stress level of the holidays increases ten-fold. The devastating truth is that children often feel like they need to pick a side, go with a certain parent, and not share their true feelings and needs. By feeling this way children, no matter their age, often dread the holiday season, and their anxiety goes off the charts. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Here are a few suggestions we have given our clients on how to share the holidays with their ex […]

How To Keep Your Children Out of The Middle When You Divorce

While financial and emotional needs are critical to discuss when divorcing, the most important topic to be talked about is your children and how they will be impacted during the separation process. Divorce for children can often be traumatic because a court-litigated divorce is often filled with animosity and anger between the parents. But when you choose the non-confrontational collaborative divorce, the goal is to divorce peacefully, leaving your family unit intact. Often divorcing couples with children ask our team of divorce experts what are their best suggestions for keeping their children out of the middle during the divorce process, […]

Financially Recovering After Divorce

The financial stress from a divorce ranks up there with the death of a loved one. A divorce didn’t happen overnight, so recovering from it financially won’t either. The first thing we should mention is to make sure you and your spouse divorce using the collaborative divorce process and a neutral financial mediator. The collaborative process brings financial privacy, amicable agreements and planning for the future once your divorce is finalized by utilizing a financial divorce specialist who can help both you and your spouse understand your financial landscape pre- and post-divorce. Here are a few tips a financial neutral […]

Updating Your Estate Plan After Divorce

When you and your spouse are finalizing your divorce, there are many things to add to your post-divorce checklist, which can sometimes feel very emotionally and financially overwhelming. Nevertheless, it is important to complete and/or update your estate plan after your divorce is finalized. In the past, estate planning was a simple process, but in today’s world, it is a very different, complex process. So many factors can play a part in your planning, from complex financials, blended marriages, multiple marriages and stepchildren. Each of these situations warrants working with an estate or trust planner who not only understands estate […]