FAMILY LAW NEWS AND USEFUL RESOURCES
SHOULD YOU REMAIN FRIENDS WITH YOUR EX AFTER DIVORCE?
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
By Shona Dee
There is no simple answer to this question. There are a lot of factors to consider. Hopefully, the three points in this blog will help you decide.
DO I HAVE TO SELL MY HOUSE IN A DIVORCE? HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
By Leslie Glazier
Your home can have emotional ties that make it brutally painful to imagine moving. That’s why one of the first questions people ask when thinking of separating is: “Do I have to sell my house in a divorce?” Here’s what you need to know.
20 THINGS I WISH I COULD HAVE TOLD MY NEWLY SEPARATED SELF
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
By Jackie Pilossoph
Looking back on the time immediately following my divorce, I was lost. I wish I knew then what I know now, so here are some nuggets of wisdom I learned that might help you, too.
KIDS & TWO HOMES: TIPS FOR POST-DIVORCE PARENTING
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
By Jennifer Wolf
From the author of the book “We’re Having a Tuesday,” tips for parents on helping their children cope with a divorce and the new reality of living in two homes.
FINDING YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
By Wevorce
Few things are as physically and emotionally exhausting as getting a divorce. It is a life-altering journey you should not take alone. Here are some tips on how to find and make use of a support system.
LESSER-KNOWN FINANCIAL RISKS FOR COUPLES FACING DIVORCE
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
By Frankie Wallace
Of course it is difficult to think ahead to your return to the single life. When you are facing a divorce, however, it is more important than ever that you look ahead to your future and protect yourself financially for the years to come.
DROPPING THE “D BOMB”: HOW TO TELL YOUR HUSBAND YOUR MARRIAGE IS OVER
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
By Sonia Frontera
Your first divorce conversation sets the tone for the divorce process and must be planned with care. Before you tell your husband that you want out, consider these pointers and handle this difficult conversation with poise and grace.
A DIVORCED PARENTS' GUIDE TO SURVIVING THANKSGIVING WITHOUT YOUR KIDS
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
By Jordana Horn
Divorce takes its toll on families with children all year round, but on Thanksgiving — a holiday meant to celebrate togetherness — its wounds can feel fresh as parents celebrate the holiday without their children.
MANAGING DIVORCE AND CHILDREN DURING THE HOLIDAYS
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
By Robert E. Emery Ph.D.
Psychology professor Robert Emery offers 10 tips for making the holidays work with a new family structure. One piece of advice: Use the New Year to make a fresh start and look forward, not back.
HALLOWEEN TIPS FOR DIVORCED DADS
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
By Matt Allen
Editor, DadsDivorce.com
Being on your own as a divorced dad for the first Halloween may be even scarier than the ghosts and goblins that will be terrorizing your neighborhood. But it’s important to make every moment count with your child, no matter how awkward and unfamiliar Halloween and its surrounding events can be as a newly single dad.
SHOULD YOU STAY FRIENDS AFTER A DIVORCE
Whether to stay friends after a divorce will depend a lot on your own unique situation. Not every post-divorce relationship will be friendly. This is especially true for couples who have gone through a nasty divorce battle. You and your ex share a past, though. Together, you built a collection of memories and experiences and know each other in a way that nobody else does. Here are some steps to help you be friends after divorce.
CO-PARENTING AND KEEPING UP WITH A TEEN’S CHANGING NEEDS
Among the many challenges of co-parenting is simply the fact that we want our children to be as happy and comfortable as possible and to be able to feel at home in either parent’s home. We do our best to create a home for our kids even if it’s not the home they always knew or the place where they will spend all their time. A teen’s changing needs as he or she begins puberty means it’s essential for parents to keep up with those needs.
SHOULD I GET A DIVORCE? 15 SIGNS THAT YOUR MARRIAGE IS OVER
If you’ve asked yourself, “Should I get a divorce?” your marriage is most likely in trouble. Deciding whether to actually get a divorce is huge. Here are 15 ways to know whether it’s time to end your marriage.
FACING YOUR FEARS DURING ADOPTION
Building your family by infant adoption is exciting and joyful, but it’s also completely normal to feel stark fear in the process. Facing your fears is a necessary part of preparing for your precious new baby. Read more to see a few of the most common types of anxiety that hopeful adoptive parents have shared with us. We also offer some great ideas from other experienced parents for facing your fears during adoption.
A REALLY REALLY GOOD REASON TO SELL YOUR RING
Deciding if you should sell your engagement and wedding rings isn’t an easy decision. My engagement and wedding rings sat in a drawer for about eight years before I sold them. I ended up selling my rings during a time when I felt like I needed extra money. I thought they were gorgeous rings and it was sad to part with them, but I had reached a point where I became disconnected to them. In fact, when I finally physically parted with my rings, it felt almost liberating to have them out of my house and out of my life.
DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS : 10 TIPS FOR HOW TO TALK TO YOUR EX
Nobody wants to have a difficult conversation, especially with your ex! It can sometimes seem like those are the only conversations you have.
TEXT MESSAGES AND SOCIAL MEDIA CAN AFFECT YOUR DIVORCE/CUSTODY CASE
In the modern age of social media and smartphones, we often don’t think twice about posting a picture of our vacation or firing off a text message. It’s easy to do and is such an integral part of our culture, but what you might consider even the most innocent Facebook photo or text message can come back to bite you if you are involved in a divorce or custody dispute.
MY ALMOST MOTHERHOOD
I had a lot of questions about my career in tech, but of one thing I was certain: I did not want a child. Then I met a girl who needed me as much as I needed her.
THE TOP 5 PREDICTORS OF DIVORCE
While a shift in the dynamic between you and your partner is not necessarily always bad, there are some specific conversations you should have in order to avoid heading to divorce.
LOVE, ADOPTION IN A TIME OF OPIOIDS
Adoptions From the Heart is a Wynnewood-based, private adoption agency, that saw its rate of opioid-involved birth mothers rise from 33 percent in 2016 to 52 percent in 2017.
HOW TO FIND THE IDEAL FAMILY LAWYER FOR YOUR LEGAL WOES
Divorce is never easy, but sometimes it gets more complicated. In those cases, it is especially important to get professional help from a family lawyer with a good track record.
SEPARATION AND DIVORCE: THE IMPACT ON A FAMILY
A family, like all living things, grows, develops, and constantly evolves over time.
NEW ATTITUDES TOWARD ADOPTION FROM FOSTER CARE OFFER HOPE
Even though there are more than 110,000 children in the U.S. foster care system who are eligible for adoption, more than 20,000 of these kids will never find an adoptive family.
NEW BLENDED FAMILY? KEEP YOUR CHILD?S PERSONALITY INTACT
Blended families were more of a rarity in the past, but with statistics reporting upwards of 40% of couples ending up divorced and remarried, the obvious conclusion is that blended families are very much on the rise.
LONG-TERM ISSUES FOR THE ADOPTED CHILD
A multitude of issues may arise when children become aware that they have been adopted.
SINGLE PARENT ADOPTIONS
Every state in the country currently allows single adults to adopt children. This may be less surprising than the fact that singles have been legally eligible to adopt since the first adoption laws were passed in the mid-nineteenth century.
DIVORCE AND MENTAL HEALTH
The topic of divorce should require no introduction. Simply put, divorce refers to the often messy and painful end of a marriage. For better or for worse, divorce is a very common event these days.
TWINS SEPARATED AT BIRTH REVEAL REUNION STORY
Two years ago, on a Saturday afternoon in London, Anais Bordier received a screenshot, sent by a friend, of a young woman in America who looked exactly like her.
MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND DIVORCE
When filing for divorce, the requesting spouse must state the "grounds" for divorce, or reason for the breakup of the couple's marriage. If you're seeking a divorce from your spouse based on fault grounds, you must prove abuse, neglect, incurable insanity, adultery, abandonment, or other fault grounds recognized by your state.
"RACIALLY CONSCIENTIOUS" PARENTING IN A "COLORBLIND" SOCIETY
As a middle-aged white couple who had adopted a black newborn, they knew they might get comments about their differences, but were somewhat surprised at the range of comments.
IMMIGRATION MATTERS RELATED TO A DIVORCE
When a marriage between an immigrant spouse and a U.S. citizen/permanent resident spouse is dissolved, it immediately raises the issue of immigration status and removal proceedings are sometimes imminent.
CHOOSING TO ADOPT
There are a variety of reasons why people choose to adopt a child. The most basic reason may be a desire to build or expand a family, but there are other reasons that often play into why a specific couple makes the choice.
THE HISTORY OF DIVORCE
In the United States, the probability of a first marriage ending in divorce stands at about 50/50.
FACING THE HOLIDAY SEASON AFTER DIVORCE
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
Holiday traditions can be a source of grief after a separation or divorce, especially if you are encountering holidays for the first time since your split. This blog offers advice to make the most out of the holidays.
HAPPIER HOLIDAYS DURING AND AFTER DIVORCE
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
By Jane Nahirny
With planning, creativity, and courage you can cope with – and even enjoy – holidays throughout the year. Here are 7 strategies to help you recapture some of the joy you experienced as a child during the holidays.
MAKING YOUR HOLIDAY VISITATION SCHEDULE
A Summary from Blake & Associates Law Firm
Make a holiday schedule now to show where your child will spend holidays and special occasions. Read more for a complete list of holidays throughout the year.
BENEFITS OF OPEN ADOPTION
Research conducted by Harold Grotevant and Ruth McRoy of the Minnesota/Texas Adoption Research Project contradicts key concerns: that contact in an open adoption is unsettling to the adoptees, increases the birth mothers? grief, and exacerbates the adoptive parents? fears of losing the child.
PARENTS NEED TO UNDERSTAND ADOPTED CHILD SYNDROME
According to Dr. David Kirshner, parents can cause unintentional harm to their adopted children by projecting their problems onto the kids. He says there is a risk of causing what he calls Adopted Child Syndrome.
HOW TO MAKE CUSTODY LESS OF A BATTLE, ACCORDING TO A DIVORCE LAWYER
Most fathers fear the family courts and it's not without good reason. For many years, dads were considered secondary caregivers and moms were given the full benefit of the doubt. But times are, thankfully, changing.
8 COMMON MYTHS ABOUT FOSTER CARE DISPELLED
For years, foster care has been misunderstood, unfairly judged, criticized through local media and television shows, and the subject of harsh headlines. It's time to set the record straight
ANATOMY OF A DIVORCE
An accomplished author's singularly eloquent account of the excruciating pain of divorce - from which he has surfaced as if from death by drowning - with considerable insights toward human caring.
RISE OF 'GRAY' DIVORCE FORCES FINANCIAL RECKONING AFTER 50
Being over 50 years of age is no barrier to divorce and, in fact, the divorce rate for the over 50 crowd has doubled since the 1990s.
WHAT IF OUR SON'S BIRTH MOTHER WANTS A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM, BUT NOT US?
Many children are given up for adoption at birth, with mutually agreed upon rules in place to guide the relationships between the birth mother, the child, and the child's new adoptive parents.
5 TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL CO-PARENTING
When a divorce is imminent and there are children involved, a healthy co-parenting strategy can go a long ways toward ensuring the impact they receive from it is minimized.
RAISING BOTH BIOLOGICAL AND ADOPTED CHILDREN
Feeling like an outsider is fairly common among adopted children and this feeling is intensified when there are also birth children in the family.
10 IMPORTANT PAPERS THAT ADOPTIVE PARENTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
The process of adopting a child is long and arduous and rife with more paperwork than you will probably experience in any other endeavor in life...
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF DIVORCE
Divorce is expensive, stressful, and in many cases debilitating, and yet it happens to over 50% of all marriages in the United States - the highest divorce rate in the world.
3 COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT DIVORCE MEDIATION
The path of mediation in a divorce can be much less costly, less time consuming, less divisive, and less stressful...
THE IMPORTANCE OF A FATHER IN A CHILD'S LIFE
The typical dad is often viewed as less than competent, falling asleep in his favorite chair, or completely obsessed with sports...
ADULTING 101: DIVORCE EDITION
Going through a divorce is difficult and complicated enough without the parties involved being immature.
COOPERATION OR COMBAT? THE CHOICE IS YOURS!
You always have a choice. The key is learning what options you have so you can make intelligent choices...
NEW TAX LAW AFFECTS ALIMONY, COULD SPUR DIVORCE SURGE
The alimony tax deduction, which has been in the tax code since 1942, is changing.
CO-PARENTING TIPS BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS
Blended families are rife with potential battlegrounds when it comes to the kids' schools...
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU ADOPT
Many couples turn to adoption after they have struggled with fertility.
ADOPTING THROUGH FOSTER CARE: A LESS EXPENSIVE ALTERNATIVE
Many families who might otherwise choose to adopt find themselves unable to manage the financial burdens.
HOW DIVORCE AFFECTS INVESTMENTS
64 percent of women say their divorce created a financial crisis.
CHILDREN AFTER DIVORCE
Adolescence is a period of particularly grave risk for children in divorced families.
SECOND MARRIAGES ARE MORE LIKELY TO END IN DIVORCE. HERE'S WHY
Marriage therapists weigh in.
MOTHERS VS. FATHERS - SPECIAL RIGHTS IN DIVORCES
Many people mistakenly believe mothers always get physical custody of the child in divorce cases.
TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR FINANCES
Understanding your income and expenses will help you to gain control of your finances - and life - during divorce.
FALSE ACCUSATIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT
According to a study conducted in 2010, somewhere between 2% and 10% of all Sexual Assault allegations are false.
10 THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MARRIAGE, ACCORDING TO DIVORCEES
Sometimes you don't know what you don't know unless you've been there.
ELECTRONIC INFORMATION IN A DIVORCE
Protecting your electronic information is always important, but when the prospect of a divorce is looming it becomes critical that you shore up any loose ends immediately.
STAYING CALM WHILE NEGOTIATING WITH YOUR EX
Ten tips for staying cool and calm during heated divorce-related negotiations or conversations
CHILDREN AND DIVORCE
As traumatic as divorce can be for the adults involved, it can be even more stressful and confusing for children.
CHILD SUPPORT AND POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
Court rulings in New Jersey hold that parents are not exempt from college-related expenses even after divorce.
ESTABLISHING PATERNITY: BIOLOGY'S ROLE IN CHILD CUSTODY AND SUPPORT
In a modern day example of how truth can be stranger than fiction, there is a growing number of child custody and support cases where few things are cut and dry, including paternity.
THE UGLY PARTS OF ADOPTION YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND
Lita Jordan, an avowed adoption advocate talks about the dark side of adoption, including unethical adoption agencies, dishonest people running money making scams, and promises that go unfulfilled.
TOP 5 CUSTODY DISPUTE MISTAKES
As traumatic and emotionally charged as a divorce can be, it is even moreso when children are involved.
THE EMOTIONAL STAGES OF DIVORCE: WHAT TO EXPECT DURING AND AFTER THE DIVORCE PROCESS
According to various experts, there are five distinct emotional stages of divorce and they correspond to the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
11 QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE GETTING A DIVORCE
Asking the right questions before getting married just makes good sense, but how many people consider carefully the questions they need to ask before getting a divorce?
