On November 13, Asm. Patrick Diegnan was recognized for his outstanding leadership by the New Jersey Council of Collaborative Practice Groups at a reception held at Olio’s in Woodbridge. Asm. Diegnan was a prime sponsor and spearheaded passage of the New Jersey Family Collaborative Law Act (NJFCLA) in the State Legislature. The new law. P.L....Read More

Last week Governor Christie signed a Bill that changes the way parties can divorce in New Jersey. Previously, the New Jersey Senate and Assembly unanimously passed the New Jersey Family Collaborative Law Act. A collaborative divorce allows the parties to contractually agree to divorce without Court intervention. Often when parties begin a litigated divorce, there...Read More

One element of the Alimony Reform Bill provides that alimony shall not, except in exceptional circumstances, exceed the length of the marriage or civil union if you are married less than 20 years. For example, if you are married 10 years the court will not award alimony for longer than 10 years. However, if a...Read More

The New Jersey Law Journal posted this on their blog today. New Jersey is moving closer to a method of divorce fashioned in meeting rooms rather than courtrooms. A bill passed unanimously by the state Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Thursday would allow divorcing spouses to hire legal counsel trained in collaborative practices to...Read More

For the past 10 years, a small group of New Orleans professionals has been taking divorcing couples to the mat. Literally. Mat training – which involves having two people communicate by assigning one to a “talking” mat and the other to a “listening” mat – is just one innovative tool in a new way to...Read More

The recession has a greater impact on people older than 50 seeking a divorce, according to Linda Piff, a lawyer in Wall whose practice handles only collaborative and uncontested divorces, mediation and prenuptial agreements. “It’s a perfect storm where elements beyond the control of the divorcing parties have come together,” Piff said. “A downturn in...Read More

For divorced parents, this weekend is not only a minefield of potential blow-ups – where will the kids eat the big meal? How fast can I get them to their dad’s house? Why did my ex-wife tire them out before my visit? – it also marks the gateway to a season of more of the...Read More

Parenting is generally evolving as gender-neutral, but the “Tender Years” assumption — the consensus that infants should be treated differently than older children in custody disputes — lingers, even when all other factors are equal in a separation or divorce. As a co-parenting therapist and parent plan mediator in Los Angeles, the city that invented...Read More

I was utterly taken with Susan Gregory Thomas’s article on “The Good Divorce” in the Sunday Styles section. My parents are rounding the bend on 61 years of marriage, but I well remember the nuclear effect that divorce had on my best friend’s life. Her parents split when she was 11. They went on to...Read More

“Right now, veterans and their families are bearing the burden of the health impacts of a decade of war,” Lt Col. Windy Hendrick, Air Force fighter pilot told the group gathered for the day-long seminar on Integrative Medicine in Action hosted by the Bravewell Collaborative. Working with the Wing Fitness program for the Arizona National...Read More