Blog
How Does The New Florida Alimony Law Affect Collaborative Divorce?
On June 30, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Florida alimony reform bill into law. Here are a few take aways from the new alimony statute: Permanent or “Lifetime Alimony” is eliminated. Adultery by either spouse may now be considered in awarding alimony, and its resulting financial impact on the spouses. The legal standard of “need”…
What Are The Rules Of Collaborative Divorce?
The strength of collaborative divorce is that there is only one rule, and that is that the spouses will not resort to a court battle. Instead, each spouse chooses their own collaboratively trained divorce attorney. Each attorney will sign a disqualification clause that provides that they cannot represent either spouse in a contested court action.…
What Conflict Style Do I Want To Teach My Children?
A presenter at a recent conference I attended asked us, “What Conflict Style Do You Want To Teach Your Children?”[1] That is a powerful question. Do I want to teach my children to escalate conflict, or do I want to teach them to de-escalate conflict? There is no question that divorce is a challenging and…
Is Collaborative Divorce a Better Option?
In most cases, the collaborative divorce process is a better option than going to court to resolve your divorce. The collaborative divorce process provides you with options and outcomes that are simply not available in the litigation system. Collaborative divorce is a private resolution process that was founded with the tenets of respect, privacy and…
E-Book: How To Get Divorced Without Fighting In Court.
I am often asked, “What is a mindful divorce? How did you come up with that name for your law practice?” After handling highly contested divorce cases and divorce trials in Palm Beach County for over 10 years, I was introduced to the collaborative divorce process. This was an eye opener for me. Instead of…
Is Every Divorce a “Nasty Divorce”?
Of course not. There are times when a marriage no longer works. This doesn’t mean that you have lost all respect and love for your spouse. This doesn’t mean that you want to start a legal battle against your spouse. It simply means that your marriage has come to an end. The collaborative divorce process…
Is Collaborative Divorce Just Mediation On Steroids?
The answer is no, and here’s why. Here are 4 advantages that collaborative divorce provides when compared to mediation: No Litigation – in collaborative divorce, both attorneys will sign a disqualification clause that disqualifies them from representing you or your spouse in litigation. This means that both lawyers will be “all in” on helping you…
How Do I Tell My Husband Or Wife That I Want A Collaborative Divorce?
Talking to your husband or wife about divorce is not an easy conversation. However, if you need to have this conversation, it is best to be prepared. Here is a short list of tips that may help in the discussion with your spouse about the benefits of Collaborative Divorce: Deadlines – Don’t create any unrealistic…
Hourly Billing Woes
Over the weekend, I read a good article in the Palm Beach Post about hourly legal fees charged to the School Board. These bills were of course ultimately paid by us, the taxpayers in Palm Beach County. The law firm billed at the rate of $660 per hour. The columnist made light of the obvious…
3 Signs That Collaborative Divorce Is Not Right For You
For the large majority of families, the benefits of the collaborative divorce process (privacy, respect, non-adversarial nature) far outweigh the cons. However, in some instances, collaborative divorce is not the best fit to address the issues in your divorce. Collaborative divorce is not the best solution for you IF: REVENGE – If you or your…