When Your Ex Opts Out -Talking to Your Children When Your Former Spouse Decides to Not Parent

optsout.jpgConsistently, one of my favorite blogs is Michael Mastracci’s Divorce Without Dishonor Blog. Mike is an excellent attorney from Baltimore, Maryland. His own difficult and acrimonious divorce and child custody battle led to his personal interest in collaborative family law.  Both attorneys and clients should include his blog on their frequent read list. Mike regularly espouses ethical, moral and philosophical standards that we should aspire to meet. I have personally and professionally been a proponent of child welfare issues for over 30 years. So, when I read his recent post about “When Your Ex Opts Out – Talking to Your Children When Your Former Parent Decides to Not Parent”, I had to ask Mike if I could have his permission to republish it. He kindly agreed. Here it is:

Although most divorcing couples deeply desire a relationship with their children after the marriage dissolves, there are exceptions to this rule. Sometimes, one of the newly divorced parents feels that their life would be easier or freer if not encumbered by their children.  They drop out of the picture for an unpredictable period of time, sometimes weeks or even years.  The custodial parent is left to explain their actions to

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The “Un-Advisability” of an “Un-Divorce” Arrangement

proconunmarr.jpgPsychotherapist and Guest Contributor Donna F. Ferber sent me an email a month or so ago encouraging me to read Suzi Parker’s article about famous couples who chose, rather than going through a divorce, to simply live separate lives. Click here to read Ms. Parker’s article about a trend some people call an “un-divorce.”

We both agreed to attempt to fairly evaluate the “pros and cons” of this option: she from a psychological perspective and me from a legal perspective. Initially, Donna was much more open to the possible merits of this arrangement than I was. She made it clear that she was most interested in hopefully reaching and empowering people who are in unhappy marriages and who feel trapped by fear, ignorance, and the lack of financial and emotional resources. Donna and I continued to exchange numerous emails over the last six weeks about this “un-divorce” arrangement, discussing the relative merits of couples remaining married but living separate lives. By reading the title of this article, I suspect you can tell that I am not impressed with the overall wisdom of such a relationship.  While it is certainly possible to construct various hypothetical situations when an “un-divorce” arrangement might … Read More... “The “Un-Advisability” of an “Un-Divorce” Arrangement”

Custody Wars: My Lawyer Suggested that I Fabricate a Child Abuse Allegation!

Our guest contributor this week is Judianne Cochran a nationally recognized expert/consultant in the following disciplines: sex offender profiling; false allegations in custody cases; interstate and international parental abduction; interstate custody and parental alienation. She has testified in numerous Courts throughout Ohio and the country. Judi presently resides in Columbus, Ohio.

jc_abuse.jpgIn recent years there has been a steady and alarming increase in the use of false allegations of vague, unsupported claims of domestic violence and even vaguer claims of child abuse, used solely in an attempt to find a shortcut to a presumed better position in custody cases. What is more alarming is the observation that more often than not the attorneys of record for the litigants making these claims have been those unschooled in and relatively new to the family law arena, who have chosen to step outside their actual specialty and add a minor “division” of family law to their practices. Often, a new, young, unskilled associate is added to the practice to handle these family law issues.

Some of these practitioners use this mechanism so frequently that simply hearing the name of the attorney leads one to assume that automatically there will be a “smoke and … Read More... “Custody Wars: My Lawyer Suggested that I Fabricate a Child Abuse Allegation!”

Should I Get a Divorce for the Sake of My Kids?

ramkidsdiv.jpgWould my kids be better off if I got a divorce” is one of the toughest questions I have been asked in therapy. I try to help parents work through this complicated question. The answer has lifelong implications for the entire family.

Here are the five factors that I ask parents to consider:

1. Unhappy marriages can improve. Overwhelmed by the stress of work, children and a perceived lack of support from a spouse, many parents feel trapped in unhappy relationships with few prospects for improvement. Recent research by Linda Waite has challenged that assumption, finding that two-thirds of unhappy spouses who stayed together actually improved their marriages over a five-year period. Sometimes couples’ satisfaction was due to actively working on problems, but in other cases marriage partners just became more accepting of their spouses. In other situations, marital satisfaction increased when stressful events such as finances or child-rearing decreased.

2. Divorce doesn’t always bring happiness for the adults. Some of the same issues that cause an unhappy marriage can linger on after a divorce. I’ve found that many parents, both men and women, misattributed the reasons for their unhappiness. They blame their spouses for feeling unhappy or unfulfilled and … Read More... “Should I Get a Divorce for the Sake of My Kids?”

Gift Ideas for the Newly Divorced! Some Tasteful and Well…Others Not So Much!

giftideas.jpgOver the past month or so, I have come across some interesting items related to post-divorce parties, celebrations and gifts.  In my opinion, some of them are respectable, others are pretty far out there, and a few are bizarre or just sort of crass. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.  Nonetheless, I will share some with our readers.

Perhaps this idea might appeal to the very “well-healed”.  How about celebrating your divorce with a memorable party in Tuscany, Italy? You bring your friends, and the vendor will take care of the rest. “We believe in love, and divorce is the very first moment your new life starts and opens to new love and happiness. Let us throw your divorce party in Tuscany with good food, wine, music and new ideas,” they say. Imagine you and your friends jetting off for a leisurely trip to Italy.  A glass of Chianti wine will be there to welcome you. Then you will start visiting vineyards, have cooking lessons and eat amazing food. You will be able to explore nearby cities such as Florence, Siena, and San Gimignano. Top it all off by having a fantastic party, with a “solemn” celebration of your … Read More... “Gift Ideas for the Newly Divorced! Some Tasteful and Well…Others Not So Much!”

Sudden Divorce Syndrome: Reality or Myth?

suddendiv.jpgI am pleased that Donna Ferber, a psychotherapist and a frequent contributor to the Ohio Family Law Blog has agreed to co-author this article with me! Our goal is to present both the legal and emotional perspectives of a trend that we are seeing in our professional practices: long term marriages ending by divorce when the wife has come to the conclusion that she has just “had enough” and that the husband is seemingly caught “blindsided” by the situation. The intent of the article is not a male versus female point and counterpoint, but rather a collaborative discourse that can provide insight into the complexity of the issues.

My legal analysis is in regular black font and Donna’s perspective as a psychotherapist is in blue italics

Having been a divorce lawyer for over 30 years, I see recurring themes in many of my cases.  Statistics show that there will be about a million divorces in the United States this year.  About 75% are filed by women.  More of my male clients are telling me that they are completely “blind-sided” by the divorce situation.  These are individuals in long-term marriages who have honored their wedding vows, are not abusers, and … Read More... “Sudden Divorce Syndrome: Reality or Myth?”

The Importance of Financial Planners for Clients Facing Divorce or Dissolution

fin_divorce.jpgI generally begin my articles for our Family Blog Web Site with a definition of the topic or subject that I am addressing, and this month’s article will not deviate from that practice.  Finance is defined by Webster’s New World Dictionary as being “the science of managing money”.  And, Financial Planner is defined by Wikipedia as “a practicing professional who helps people deal with various personal financial issues through proper planning, which includes but is not limited to these major areas: cash flow management, education planning, estate planning, investment planning, risk management and insurance planning, tax planning, estate planning and business succession planning (for business owners).  The work engaged in by this professional is commonly known as personal financial planning.  In carrying out the planning function, he or she is guided by the financial planning process to create a financial plan – a detailed strategy tailored to a client’s specific situation, for meeting a client’s specific goals.”

Jay Buckingham, CFP, of Buckingham Financial Group has been my personal Financial Planner for over ten (10) years.  In order to assist me with the preparation of this article, I recently met with Jay to discuss his role as a Financial Planner.  I … Read More... “The Importance of Financial Planners for Clients Facing Divorce or Dissolution”

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