Members of the Denton County Collaborative Divorce practice group held their annual spring social February 8 at Barley and Board in Denton. It was a great turn out and great time for all who attended. … [Read more...]
2017 DCCP Annual Retreat
Denton County Collaborative Professionals enjoyed their annual retreat. See photos from our event. … [Read more...]
Contrasting the Perverse Incentive of Family Law and Collaborative Divorce
Recently one of our associate attorneys at Springer Lyle, Daniel Abasolo, wrote this blog that is critical of the traditional litigated divorce process because there are more incentives for attorneys to drive fees than to manage the case and reduce fees. Daniel makes the case for the collaborative divorce process and the incentives for the attorneys to work toward helping the clients to settle the case and reduce conflict rather than promote it. Reducing conflict in a divorce enables the clients … [Read more...]
Looking for Sanity in Divorce
Can you find sanity while you are involved a divorce? Maybe not, but you can do some things to make yourself feel more grounded and less helpless. Without fail, I tell any client or potential client that therapy is the best gift they can give themselves as they go through a divorce. And I mean their own individual therapist, not a marriage counselor (that's a separate matter). For many of us, the cost of therapy may be prohibitive, but if you can afford it, therapy may be the only place where … [Read more...]
Divorce: Do You Want the MOST or What You Most WANT?
Media are filled with advertisements from lawyers guaranteeing to get you “what you are entitled to.” Lawyers, particularly trial lawyers, are highly trained to fight for these entitlements. Nowhere is that deemed more important than in the context of divorce. The reason is clear: spouses are splitting, and that means loss - loss of companionship, loss of teamwork, loss of time with children, and loss of money. Divorcing couples hear a seemingly unending stream of anecdotes about “paydays,” … [Read more...]
The Divorce Map
The "divorce map" to the right shows the basic legal path from the beginning to the end of a divorce. To begin with, a divorce is a lawsuit. The lawsuit is started by filing a petition. It ends when the judge signs a decree. After one spouse files the petition, the other spouse must be given notice of the lawsuit. The "papers" can be formally served on him or her, or they can be delivered more informally and the spouse can waive service or have his or her lawyer file an answer. Next, … [Read more...]
Closing Documents for Transfer of Vehicles and Real Property in Texas Divorce Decrees
The typical Texas divorce should include the award of all property and debt with specificity. Personal Property that is evidenced by a “title” such as a motor vehicle or manufactured housing, or a deed for Real Property consisting of land and improvements thereupon such as a house, should be specifically listed in the decree with full and complete legal descriptions and/or identification numbers. For real property, full and accurate descriptions that are as complete and as used in the original … [Read more...]
Don’t Choose the Ugly Path for Divorce—Choose Collaborative
When a marriage is over, it is often a time for things to get ugly. Sometimes, very ugly! Almost every adult Texan has seen such ugly scenarios play out at some point in their lives. The courtroom divorce can likewise add to the ugliness while the couple fights and picks over every detail and kicks and screams in and out the courtroom doors. No matter how you get to the divorce stage, you can still salvage an ugly situation from finishing ugly. Collaborative Law is a process that allows the … [Read more...]
Why Should Your Gay Divorce be Collaborative?
If you are reading this blog, you may be thinking, “How can lawyers start talking about gay divorce when the ink is barely dry on the gay marriage opinion?” Unfortunately, with the right to marry comes the right to divorce, and gay divorces have already begun across the country. As a family lawyer, I worry that my LGBTQ clients have had such a struggle clarifying their fundamental right to get married that there has been little to no focus on what happens when a marriages does not last a … [Read more...]
The Emotional Task of Divorce
Emotions During Divorce The decision to end your marriage is not just a legal proceeding, but an emotional task that will influence the agreements you make and determine the outcome of your divorce settlement. While different people experience their feelings in different ways, most would agree that the loss of any important relationship will result in an emotional response that could be as severe as that of a death in the family. Although this response is normal, the result is often distorted … [Read more...]