Articles about Divorce Mediation

The new law governing post-divorce maintenance is now official and goes into effect on Jan. 23, 2016. Mediators can begin to use it immediately as part of the possible options a couple can use.

The most difficult impasses in mediation are generally based upon unresolved emotional issues within or between the parties.

Using child support guidelines is not for everyone. An alternative that has been used a number of times in mediations done through the Center for Mediation & Training divides child-related expenses into two categories.

An older, divorcing couple rarely has more than one or two assets worth more than their Social Security rights. After a house and pension/retirement plans, Social Security is their next largest “asset.” Yet it is rarely considered by their lawyers, mediators, nor the parties themselves.

Some attorneys have accepted the conclusion that women are disadvantaged in mediation because of their predisposition toward preservation of relationships

BY STEVEN L. ABEL FOR THE FAMILY & DIVORCE MEDIATION COUNCIL OF GREATER NEW YORK, MARCH 25, 2004

BY KEN NEUMANN (PRESENTED AT AFCC-NY SECOND ANNUAL CONFERENCE, NOVEMBER 21, 2003)

In most public accounts of divorce, there is no confusion as to why the couple is splitting up.

In an important child support decision, the New York State Court of Appeals (the state’s highest court), has decided that custodial parents are entitled to cost of living adjustments (increasing agreed upon child support), unless their agreement specifically waives the right to a cost of living adjustment.

COURT TV, AUGUST 18, 1997 10 A.M. – 11 A.M.; GUEST: STEVEN ABEL, DIVORCE MEDIATOR

To answer the question of how legal is a legal separation, I’m reminded of the saying that “possession is nine-tenths of the law.”