Blog
Barney Connaughton on divorce and mediation: custody, support, property, and how the process works.
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Nesting and Child Custody in Divorce Mediation
Nesting is a child sharing arrangement in divorce where the children remain full time in the family home and the parents move in when it is their parenting time, and move out when it is the other parent’s custodial time. This is not a very common practice but occasionally will provide couples with an option […]
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Adding Detail and Depth to Divorce Agreements
The Divorce Agreement. When couples divorce there are certain items that need to be dealt with to consider the divorce complete. These issues include ending the status of the marriage, addressing the custody and visitation of minor children, setting child and spousal support and dividing up the assets and debts. Of these issues, typically the […]
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Divorce and Estate Planning
In a recent study conducted by caring.com it was found that while 56% of those surveyed believed that estate planning was important, only 33% of Americans had actually formally completed their estate plan. Each state has laws that determine what happens to somebody’s belongings and the guardianship of their minor children in the event of […]
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Divorce Mediation and Life Insurance
It isn’t hard to think of a more pleasant combination of topics to write about than divorce and death, but here we are. It is valuable to understand the three primary situations where life insurance needs to be addressed in a divorce. The first situation is when the couple has a whole life or variable […]
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Divorce and Intention Visualization
It can be a very valuable exercise at the beginning of divorce for the divorcing couple to envision what they want things to look like in the end. The same is true for divorce professionals working with these couples to also carry what they would like things to look like for the couple at the […]
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Happy International Child Centered Divorce Month!
I have seen a couple of recent articles stating that January is International Child Centered Divorce Month. I looked it up online and sure enough it is a real thing. Diving in a little deeper I discovered that July is National Child Centered Divorce Month in the United States. We will need to wait another […]
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To Zoom or Not to Zoom, that is the Question
In March of 2022 when the Courts closed and stay at home orders were issued I had mediated a total of zero divorces by way of zoom video conference. I had handled a few via phone conference out of necessity where one of the spouses lived out of town, which was less than ideal, but […]
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Reflections and Aspirations
There is a lot going on the last couple weeks of December. Most people probably don’t want to hear about divorce during this time. It is a time of celebration, a time of showing generosity, love, friendship and joy. It is a very busy time but also a time for peace, calm and relaxation. For […]
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The Divorce Coach and High Emotions Throughout the Divorce
Over my years working as a Divorce Attorney and now Divorce Mediator, I have seen numerous stories of spouses and other divorce professionals being killed by angry opposing spouses in the midst of their divorces. I have been part of an office that had a client kill their own mother who had sided with the […]
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Stay in Control with Divorce Mediation
One way for couples to keep their power throughout the divorce process is to work together to resolve their issues through divorce mediation. When divorcing couples hire attorneys and step into the Courthouse to have the Judge rule on their issues, they have successfully handed over the decision making authority of their divorce to a […]
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Five Tips for Couples Dealing with the Stress of Divorce:
Divorce is a stressful time. It is a time of uncertainty, change, emotional challenges, upheaval, and is fraught with problems needing to be solved. While there are ways to reduce the stress by getting good guidance from the right professionals and choosing divorce mediation to remove the stress and uncertainty of the Courts from the […]
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Good People in Family Law
I have been on a mission to inform the world that there is a better way for couples to divorce than hiring attorneys and litigating through the Family Courts. I think most spouses are capable of working together with a divorce mediator to get fully educated on the issues, exchange all pertinent information, explore their […]