You're negotiating a separation or divorce agreement, and your spouse offers to pay you $X monthly for X years in exchange for your ownership interest in the house, retirement account, stock options or some other valuable asset. Should you accept your spouse's offer? Should you … [Read more...]
How to Say No to a Family Court Judge
Saying "No" to a family law judge seems simple enough: "No your honor." But in reality, it's rarely easy. Even sophisticated executives, poised professionals, and junior lawyers can be unnerved when called upon to dissent in a courtroom before a presiding Judge with dozens of … [Read more...]
How to Practice Mindfulness in Divorce
I stand before a judge in a Silicon Valley courtroom. The gallery is filled with lawyers and their clients whose fates rest in the hands of our judge. I represent a moving party whose husband has not paid the court-ordered spousal support and has presented two … [Read more...]
3 mistakes people make in divorce
"To err is human; to forgive, is divine." Alexander Pope (1708) Like me, you undoubtedly have, and will continue to, make mistakes in life. We don't mean to make mistakes, but we do. In the grand scheme of things, little faux-pas like mixing plastic and paper are easily … [Read more...]
5 things to expect when divorcing a narcissist
Narcissistic personality disorder — one of several types of personality disorders — is a mental condition in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others. … [Read more...]
Does bad behavior matter in a California no-fault divorce?
California is a no-fault divorce state, which, broadly speaking, means allegations of fault are “improper and inadmissible”. (California Family Code Section 2335) When a party files a Petition for Legal Separation, Dissolution of Marriage or Dissolution of a Domestic … [Read more...]