We blog about helping Long Island families to resolve conflicts in the most productive ways possible.
Jan 6, 2017BY: Harriette SteinbergIN: Is Collaborative for You?
Until recently, when people thought of divorce, the litigation model was their only choice. In this model, finding the best advocate often amounted to finding the professional who pursued a client’s positions no matter the cost and often to the destruction of the financial interests and future relationships of their clients and family. How many […]
Mar 23, 2016BY: Roxane PolakIN: The Collaborative Team,What is Collaborative Divorce?
The best way to explain how Collaborative Divorce works – and the value of this team approach – is to share a real case study. Sue* and John*, the parents of two children, were married for ten years when John told Sue he had an affair and wanted a divorce. He moved out and then […]
Mar 23, 2016BY: Charles McEvilyIN: Collaborative Attorneys
Like divorce lawyers in litigated matters, your Collaborative Divorce attorney will tell you how the law applies to your unique factual situation and will draft and revise the final agreement resolving your situation. However, lawyers in the Collaborative Divorce Process perform other critical functions. Using the special skills involved in Collaborative Process, your attorney will […]
Nov 4, 2015BY: Harriette SteinbergIN: Collaboration or Litigation or Mediation
Money is on everyone’s mind these days. So it is only natural for anyone contemplating a divorce to ask, “What will a good lawyer cost me?” But the answer is not simply a matter of dollars and cents. It depends not only on the attorney you hire, but also on your basis for selecting the […]
Nov 1, 2015BY: Roxane PolakIN: Children and Parenting Issues,The Collaborative Team,What is Collaborative Divorce?
The parents of Amy* (age 14) and Nick* (age 10) are using the Collaborative Divorce process. Putting a Child Specialist on the collaborative team was suggested because of the parents’ disagreement over Amy’s and Nick’s needs. Mom thought Dad was too indulgent and not attentive enough to safety. She insisted on meeting all of Amy’s […]
Nov 1, 2015BY: Neil CahnIN: Collaboration or Litigation or Mediation
You don’t need your lawyer’s permission to ask your friends; you’re going to do it anyway. So ask. Ask the ones who have gone through a litigated divorce how it feels to take time off work or from errands to go to court. They sat in their judge’s courtroom for a couple of hours, only […]
Nov 1, 2015BY: Nancy KayeIN: Finances and the Financial Neutral
Divorce is typically wrought with extreme emotional and financial turbulence. In particular, the histories that bound couples, families, friends and home life are disrupted. Standards of living are often changed, not just for spouses but for the children as well. And what once appeared to be a clear financial path to the future is now […]
Jul 27, 2015BY: Neil CahnIN: Collaboration or Litigation or Mediation
Trying something new off the menu seems more enticing when you’re in a different country. The same might be said for the menu of divorce resolution options. Let’s travel north of the border into Canada. In a July 17, 2011 press release, the Attorney General for Ontario, Canada announced new regulations governing couples divorcing in […]
Jul 5, 2015BY: Nancy KayeIN: Finances and the Financial Neutral
Divorce is typically wrought with extreme emotional and financial turbulence. In particular, the histories that bound couples, families, friends and home life are disrupted. Standards of living are often changed, not just for spouses, but for the children as well. What once appeared to be a clear financial path to the future is now a rocky […]
Mar 3, 2015BY: Neil CahnIN: Collaboration or Litigation or Mediation
Outside his Suffolk County, NY courtroom, the late Justice Donald Blydenburgh had proudly posted a letter from an Assistant Attorney General who thanked him for passing on news of tax evasion revealed in a divorce case. While it is not the role of any lawyer – collaborative or otherwise – to assist a client to […]