Why Work to Reach an Agreement?
I can think of a few reasons to focus your time, money and energy on reaching an agreement to resolve your divorce, support, custody or other family law matter or estate administration conflict. The first three reasons are your time,...[Continue reading]
Divorce & Parenting Arrangements
Most parents experiencing a divorce tell me that their primary concern is their children’s best interests. And most of the time I believe them. However, that doesn’t mean their children’s best interests are always automatically foremost in their minds when...[Continue reading]
Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods
“Alternative” refers to alternatives to litigation (the court process). If you need to resolve a conflict, but don’t want to go through the court process (I advise avoiding court if possible!) then you have alternatives to consider. I strongly recommend...[Continue reading]
My Approach to Practicing Law
I emphasize providing “effective and efficient legal services.” That means I want to do everything necessary to serve my clients and accomplish their goals. I do not want to take unnecessary actions or make my clients incur unnecessary expenses. I...[Continue reading]
The Central Pennsylvania Collaborative Law Community
Central Pennsylvania, including Harrisburg, Hershey, Carlisle, York and surrounding areas, has a thriving collaborative law community. This community includes collaborative attorneys, divorce coaches and financial professionals. The Collaborative Professionals of Central Pennsylvania (CPCP) focuses on educating the public and other...[Continue reading]
Gathering Information
Regardless of the process you use to go through a divorce, you must gather information in order to make informed decisions. There are numerous ways to gather information, ranging from relatively simple and inexpensive to increasingly complex and increasingly expensive....[Continue reading]
Basics of Collaborative Law
Collaboration means to work together to achieve a common goal. The collaborative process involves the spouses, their attorneys and any other involved professionals engaging in non-confrontational sessions to discuss the issues and goals of the involved individuals. The issues may...[Continue reading]
Basics of Mediation
Mediation is negotiating with the assistance of a neutral third party (the mediator) who facilitates the negotiation process. Mediation involves non-adversarial negotiation between individuals based on their interests, needs and concerns. It is usually an informal process, with the mediation...[Continue reading]
Trust and Divorce
Individuals starting the divorce process often have problems trusting each other. Sometimes the trust that existed during the marriage was violated by infidelity. Sometimes, trust is eroded due to lack of communication that leads to one or both spouses misinterpreting...[Continue reading]
Who Gets to Keep the Family Pet?
For those who don’t have pets, this may seem like a silly question in the big picture of a divorce. I know first-hand that for many pet owners, this is a very important question that can take on many of...[Continue reading]