Labor Day is coming, school is starting, the days are shortening and reality sinks in, summer is over. September brings mediation candidates who were able to handle living together in the summer as there are opportunities outside, activities and frankly outdoor seating and they can spread out more. September means in the house, school schedules, …
I admit it, I am a fan of true crime drams. Netflix has a series named “Dirty John/Betty Broderick”. The second season features Betty Broderick, a true story of a woman entangled in a terrible divorce to which she has also contributed to the complexity and expense of the divorce she does not want. In …
Covid Lessons Covid made me re-evaluate how my mediation sessions are scheduled and designed, and it was helpful process. Pre-Covid I would arrange to meet with the mediation participants in a professional setting such as a conference room or space in an attorney’s office. Generally those spaces are neither interesting nor inviting. Glass walled conference …
I now have had two mediations with two separate couples in which both women had decided to leave and divorce due to their partner’s changing political views. I had never mediated a situation like this before and now to have two couples in the same circumstances really caught me by surprise. The couples were similar …
The economic downturn left deep financial wounds in many families. The young investments bankers of Wall Street may be buying their first Bentleys but often the average American has not recovered enough to buy a new Kia. Clients I work with often select mediation as their vehicle to divorce because is cost-effective. Frankly mediation is …
I have read the advice column “Dear Abby” since I was a teenager. Over the years I have noticed many trends and categories of letters and themes; love, unrequited love, disappointments, loss, etc. In the last years more letters appear addressing the issues of aging parents. How to encourage- or force- them to move out …
I recently met for the first time with a divorcing couple who were mediating a divorce settlement and also a custody plan for their children. With rare exceptions new divorce clients with children always state within the first three minutes of meeting “We only want to do what is best for our children.” Or “Our …
Every mediator has a different style and tone. In divorce or separation mediation sessions I focus on the outcome and I attempt to mold discussions to be helpful and progressive. I never ask why a couple is separating. It simply does not matter legally, unless of course a crime has been committed or there are …
I was sorting old notes for shredding and I came across notes from a case I chose not to mediate. A few years ago I met with a gentleman who was interested in mediation for a divorce. He was organized, well groomed and dressed, spoke eloquently and was charming. I asked him if the divorce …
He was a bull of a man. Tall, muscled, clearly tightly wound. He preferred to stand during the mediation. He reminded me of a peacock as he preened and strutted. She was quiet, folded into herself, clearly once a very beautiful woman. She had aged and appeared tired and worn out. They were married 30 …