http://kanelaw.net Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:48:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Labor Day is the traditional end of summer vacation and return to work.  Not surprisingly, As a divorce mediator and collaborative lawyer, I see an upsurge of calls from couples who have deferred the hard questions of how to best conclude their marriages and parent their children in separate households.  ... http://kanelaw.net/2009/09/30/autumn-transitions%e2%80%94moving-toward-your-preferred-future/  There are three kinds of collaborative divorce that I recommend to clients, depending on the circumstances.  In order of cost-savings over traditional litigation, the options are: (1) mediation, (2) the collaborative team process, and, (3) two attorneys working together cooperatively as settlement counsel, with the assistance of a mediator on ... http://kanelaw.net/2009/05/09/collaborative-divorce-costs-less/           I  have been remiss in my posts during this long and wearisome winter.  But I have my excuses.  In mid-January, my co-tenants and I were rudely informed that our landlord had lost its master lease and we needed to vacate our Bellevue digs within a week.  So, ... http://kanelaw.net/2009/03/25/transitions-and-springtime/ This week’s issue of the British magazine, The Week, reports that it’s been a bad week for divorce lawyers.  The editors point to a survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.  The survey’s finding is that the recession is making it too expensive for many couples to split up.  ... http://kanelaw.net/2009/01/20/divorcing-economically-collaboratively-in-a-recession/ I suspect that the economic meltdown that began in earnest in mid-September is a factor in causing many couples to “hunker down” instead of starting divorce mediation or a collaborative divorce until their balance sheets will improve and their homes will regain value and liquidity.  My anecdotal evidence is a sudden ... http://kanelaw.net/2008/12/17/the-connection-between-recession-and-divorce%e2%80%94a-matter-of-timing/ People often ask me if divorces are seasonal as if calls for my services as a mediator wax and wane with the moon.  The answer is a qualified “yes.” My take is that couples contemplating divorce would rather put it off during family orientated times of the year such as ... http://kanelaw.net/2008/10/16/early-stage-divorce-mediation-during-economic-downturns/ Early Stage Divorce Mediation requires information gathering by couples between sessions with their mediator.  Without reliable data identifying and valuing the property to be divided and the budgets of wife and husband going forward, it’s impossible to make good decisions about property division and the need, if any, for spousal ... http://kanelaw.net/2008/08/01/the-importance-of-homework-in-divorce-mediation/ The very nasty and public Denise Richards-Charlie Sheen divorce brings home how vindictive and destructive divorces can be in America.  I don’t see people like that in my divorce mediation practice—husbands and wives who serve each other with divorce papers on Christmas Eve.    Granted, my clients may not like each ... http://kanelaw.net/2008/07/01/finding-a-good-family-law-mediator/ What does the untimely death of journalist, Tim Russert, have to do with couples choosing mediation or collaborative law to resolve their divorces? Plenty, it turns out. In today’s New York Times OP-ED, William Kristol writes that ‘Big Tim’ “died too young, But he lived more than ... http://kanelaw.net/2008/06/16/high-end-goals-in-compassionate-divorces%e2%80%94lessons-from-big-tim%e2%80%99s-death/ In my last blog, I discussed the difference between evaluative and facilitative mediators. How evaluative mediators are called in as the trial date approaches to settle the divorce by evaluating the legal strengths and weaknesses of each spouse’s “position.” Facilitative mediators, on the other hand, leave the ... http://kanelaw.net/2008/06/01/choosing-the-right-mediator%e2%80%94one-size-doesn%e2%80%99t-fit-all/