I’ve never wanted children, as far back as I can recall. As a kid, I did play with names for “my twins,” like Dennis and Denise, Michael and Michaela, and Joseph and Josephine. And I played with dolls, but never as though they were my children, rather as though they were me and my sisters, …
When a judge makes the decisions about your family and finances, everyone loses. My parents divorced during a time when the courts granted mothers “custody,” as it was called then, and fathers were permitted to “visit” with their children every other weekend. There was even a term for treating mothers in such a preferential manner; …
Learn more about collaborative divorce. Follow Open Palm Law. Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin-in Youtube Need advice now? Contact Joryn! About this week’s author, Joryn Jenkins. Joryn, attorney and Open Palm Founder, began her own firm here in Tampa after a 14-year career in law, two of which she served as a professor of law at Stetson …
Just Because Your Marriage Doesn’t Work Doesn’t Mean Your Family Can’t Read More »
I was recently invited to be part of a collaborative divorce team as the notetaker. Here’s what I learned: I have become familiar with the collaborative divorce process over the last few months, discussing how the process unfolds with clients and our lawyers and working with clients as we prepared them for their meetings, …
Note Taking – First Collaborative Divorce Team Meeting (MD) Read More »
I read recently that the opposite of love is not hate; it’s indifference. So, what is the opposite of happiness? I asked this question because, in all of our collaborative divorces, we strive to enable our clients to set goals, those targets that they believe will lead to their future happiness, if not immediately, …
In life, surrounding yourself with the right people can mean the difference between happiness and sadness, success and failure. It is no different when you experience a divorce. Should you surround yourself with Negative Nellies who only see the bad in everything that happens? Or with Positive Pollys, realistic folks who keep you grounded and …
What role does a stepparent have in parenting? Integrating a stepparent into an already established family structure can be a sensitive, and potentially stressful, situation. What do you do when a conflict arises between parent and stepparent, or between stepparent and child? I’m here to assure you that there is no one-answer-fits-all, only what …
The Stepparent: What level of involvement in parenting is appropriate? Read More »
A woman I met last year called me recently. Her voice was pitched higher than usual, and she was talking too fast, nearly babbling. I had to ask her to slow down so that I could understand what she was saying. She apologized but it was clear that she was in complete dismay. She wanted …
Many divorcing couples aren’t able to resolve their divorces without the assistance of professionals. Sometimes one hires an attorney to represent one of them in the negotiations with the other party; sometimes they each opt to retain counsel to negotiate a resolution for them. How do you know if this is the right divorce process …
Is Negotiation The Right Divorce Process For You? Read More »
For the couple getting divorced, there are a number of choices available to them of how to go about it, from negotiating directly with each other (pro se negotiations) to leaving it all in a judge’s hands (litigation). At a time when there are already so many questions and so much stress, it may seem …
Asking Questions: Is Mediation The Right Process For Your Divorce? Read More »
