We want to support you in keeping marriage and your family together if possible. Our experience shows that couples who work through the process of creating a marital agreement early on benefit tremendously. Far from “planning for the worst,” the exercise of talking through potential conflict areas and coming to mutually satisfying decisions early on puts couples on a path far more likely to lead to long-term success.

But when reconciliation is not possible, or when the situation is not safe for everyone in the family, we highly recommend you consider using mediation or collaborative services. By working through your separation and divorce outside the courtroom, you will find your way to resolution more quickly, less expensively, and with far more input, leading to more mutually satisfying outcomes.

If you and your partner can make arrangements for your children without giving control over to a judge, and if you can work together to keep their welfare a top priority (including shielding them from the trauma of spending time in court), they will be forever grateful.

Take a peek at the cartoon below drawn by a 10-year old friend of mine. Its message really hits home. Keep your family together if you can. But if you can’t, please do all you can to protect your children from conflict in and out of the courtroom. We promise to support you in every way we can, and we have a a team of experts to call on as we work with your family through this difficult time.