Unhappily Married, Divorcing or Divorced Parents, Set Your Own Boundaries, So Your Kids Aren’t the Ones Who Suffer I lost a friend once when I was candid with her and said I thought her bashing her husband to her kids and in front of the kids was destructive to them, and if they ever ended up in a divorce, she could lose custody of the kids because of her actions. She got angry, saying, … [Read more...]
Divorce Poison and Dr. Richard Warshak
Understanding the Trauma and Permanent Damage Bad-Mouthing can cause in a Divorce In 1993, I had a case where the mother, who had chosen to have a career that forced her to commute every day, thought that because she was the mother of the child, she basically had divine right to move the child away from the town where the father lived. The father had chosen to stay in a local (and lower … [Read more...]
The Future of Marriage
A New Phase Arising in Marriage Dynamics I regularly read books on marriage, divorce, and parenting because I deal with families and relationships in my work every day. So if there is some idea or resource out there that would be helpful to my clients, potential clients, or even just people in general, I want to offer it to them. More and more I am seeing clients who list their top … [Read more...]
How To Tell Your Family and Friends About Your Divorce
Years ago, I had a collaborative divorce couple who were particularly progressive in their thinking. They wanted to know the best way to tell their family and friends about their divorce in a way that would prevent their family and friends from feeling that they needed to take sides or criticize one or the other of them. It is only natural to feel the need to support your family and … [Read more...]
Raechel Parolisi: The Dangers of Not Using an ERISA Attorney When You Divorce
As a family lawyer who is Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, I can tell you that even most board certified lawyers are not experts in retirement benefits; I recommend that when you need a specialist, you should be sure to ask for one. For additional information, here is an article that was published by the Dallas Bar Association by Raechel Parolisi, the person I … [Read more...]
What happens in Texas if you die without a Will?
If you die without a Will, what happens? One of my colleagues says, “Texas writes one for you.” What he means by that is that the Texas Estates Code determines how your property will be divided if you do not indicate your wishes in a formal Will. For the vast majority of people, doing a Will is inexpensive and simple. But if you die without one, what would have been simple, may … [Read more...]
“Love, Honor and Negotiate” – Pre-Marital Agreements as Insurance for Your Relationship
Whatever the long-term relationship status might be, it is a good idea to have a pre-marital or cohabitation agreement. Why? Many people are now waiting to marry until later in life. Some do not marry at all, but are in long-term co-habitation relationships. Psychologists and other social scientists say this is because of one or several possibilities: the expectations of … [Read more...]
Learning to Manage Emotions
Learning to Manage Emotions Is Important For Every Age Collaborative Divorce Helps Family Members Learn How to Deal with Their Emotions so They Heal Rather than Have Deeper, Lifelong Wounds The following is an article that was posted by Bill Eddy's www.HighConflictInstitute.com. Bill Eddy, who is both a social worker and a lawyer, has helped thousands of people worldwide learn how to manage … [Read more...]
The Effect of Negative Emotions in Deal-Making
As family lawyers, we live our daily professional lives in a pool of client emotions, both our own clients’ emotions and their spouses’ emotions. We regularly turn to mental health professionals to help us and our clients manage those emotions. It is interesting to note, in addition to data from psychological resources, that the Harvard Program on Negotiation recognizes the negative effect that … [Read more...]
