Most of us understand the basics of child support. You have a minor child, you pay support. Okay, well maybe we don’t understand the basics – because most people don’t seem to realize that even custodial parents (the parents who have the children more) usually have an obligation to pay something for the support of...
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In the English language, the two words ‘mediation’ and ‘collaboration’ mean something fairly similar, so it’s probably not any surprise that, when it comes to divorce, people really don’t understand the difference. I find it happens pretty often in conversation that people confuse or conflate the two, and it’s really no wonder. In general, people...
Domestic violence is at the root of a shocking number of the cases that we handle. Just yesterday, a friend from high school reached out to me about her situation – probably the fourth or fifth time she’s done so in the last eight years. This morning, I started off by chatting with another attorney...
I keep seeing the phrase “Disneyland Dad” pop up. For a long time, we’ve referred to this phenomenon as “Super Dad” but I think that “Disneyland Dad” is even better. In fact, as a child, I saw this in action. My uncle Mark and his wife had gone through a nasty divorce, which meant...
I was on Instagram the other day, as I so often am, and came across a little meme that said “Your ex doesn’t make the rules; your parenting plan does.” I mean, it’s cute. It’s meant to be empowering, too, which I can appreciate. But, as a lawyer, it confused me a little bit....
What can you do when you don’t trust your child’s father to keep your child safe during his parenting time? In many cases, it’s difficult to show the court all the ways that a bad dad (though not necessarily an outright physically abusive one) doesn’t show up for his kids in a meaningful way. It’s...
The world is hard on moms. We already know that, but I think that this is especially evident in custody cases. On the one hand, the world tells us that women are the ones best suited by nature to be caregivers for children. We’re maternal, selfless, nurturing – in short, best suited to pick...
I find that most of the issues, when it comes to divorce and custody, is that women don’t have enough information to make truly informed choices. We come to the table knowing – or, at least, thinking we know – certain things about the divorce and custody process. Mostly, we know that court is terrible,...