Blog
Barney Connaughton on divorce and mediation: custody, support, property, and how the process works.
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Credit Card Perks and Divorce.
In a recent study it was reported that nearly half of American households use credit cards to earn perks such as cash back, points to use toward purchases, and travel miles. Credit card companies entice users to run up debt so that substantial interest can be earned on balances owing. I have previously written about […]
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Divorce and the Needs of Adult Children.
For many of us parents who have adult children we recognize that our children don’t magically become fully self-sufficient when they turn 18 and graduate from high school. When couples divorce in California the legal requirement to support them (unless they are incapacitated) ends when they emancipate which is when they turn 18 and have […]
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Full Disclosure and Divorce.
In my ongoing efforts to simplify the process of divorce, I have boiled it down into four basic steps. First, getting educated on the law and the issues. Second, the exchange of a thorough and complete disclosure. Third, resolving the issues through settlement or by presenting them to a Judge for determination. Fourth and finally, […]
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Untangling and Divorce Mediation.
When we get married we make a conscious decision to become entangled with our partner. As they say, we “tie the knot.” We move from being individuals to being a partnership. We entangle our personal lives, our finances and our assets and obligations. We may decide to become parents and get further entangled in […]
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Hello, Goodbye and Happy New Year!
I have always loved New Years. Earlier this month I wrote about making resolutions and reflecting on the year gone by. I continue to be one of those people who likes to stay up until midnight and count down the arrival of the new year, bang on pots and pans, give big hugs to my […]
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Decisions and Stepping Into your Higher Self
I spent a number of years serving as a board member for the school that my children attended. It was our practice to start off each meeting with a selected study for about 20 minutes or so, focused on either further educating our work as board members or seeking to inspire us in our work. […]
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Goals, Resolutions and Divorce.
Each year around this time I spend some time reviewing my New Year’s Resolutions from the past year to check in and see how I did and then consider if I want to continue chasing those that I have not yet attained, or whether I want to build some new ones. I have always used […]
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Vague vs. Specific Custody Terms in Divorce Mediation
A common subject of conversation when I am working with couples who are resolving their divorce through mediation is a desire on their part to keep things very simple. Sometimes when it comes to sharing the children they are confident that they will be able to work together as a team in the best interest […]
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A Time for Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving upon us, it is time to take a short break from speaking about divorce and instead take a little time for celebration and thankfulness. Earlier this week over dinner the topic of conversation was thinking back and sharing about our favorite Thanksgiving memories. My Mother is down visiting for the holiday and she […]
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Considerations in Settling Divorce
Getting to the finish line in your divorce involves resolving all of the issues. When you have children the issues are custody, visitation, child support, spousal support and dividing up your assets and debts. If you don’t have children, it is resolving spousal support and dividing up your assets and debts. Your option is to […]
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Trying to Make Divorce a Little Easier.
Most couples faced with divorce find it to be an extremely daunting task. During a time of emotional crisis and strained levels of communication between spouses, you have to sort out such important issues as sharing and meeting the needs of the children, navigating management of ongoing finances, and fairly dividing up accumulated assets and […]
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Child Custody Considerations and Divorce Mediation.
One of the hardest things to come to terms with when getting divorced is that you will no longer be seeing your children every single day, sending them off into the world each morning, and tucking them snuggly into bed each evening. I previously wrote a blog providing some details about legal custody, child sharing […]