Everyday someone fails.  Sometimes marriages fail and sometimes parents fail.   Sometimes the courts fail families and sometimes lawyers do.  Sometimes mediation fails to help people reach agreements, and sometimes people fail to help themselves. But sometimes, we also succeed.  There are success stories in family court, mediation and collaborative sessions that save relationships, and parents who overcome divorce to raise good confident children.  Today was one of those success stories and it's one worth sharing: Today, I didn't fight for my client.  I didn't beat the opposing party.  I didn't solve the problem triumphantly by myself. Today, I didn't win. Instead, the opposing counsel, the collaborative coach and I did something together, as a team.  We helped two parents talk.  That might seem simple and easy, but for some parents, in some situations, it is not.  It took preparation and time, and some failures along the way. ...

In our previous post , we explored the problem with the way that most resources (including the court's own website) answer the question "How do I start the divorce process?"  Most resources answer this question by telling you which court forms you can file.   However, the court forms don't determine how to divide your finances, or where your children will live.  The court forms only determine whether you will make those decisions for yourself or ask a Judge to make them for you. Before you decide what forms to file, you need to make a decision about what level of control you want over your own divorce process and major life decisions.  If you have children, you also need to consider your communication and relationship goals for co-parenting post-divorce, and which divorce process will best help you meet those goals.  Each different process offers different levels of assistance from various types of professionals.  Which option is right for you depends on ...