Blog
Protecting Your Wealth in Divorce: 7 Essential Tips for Professional Women
Divorce is one of the most challenging life transitions, and for professional women, the stakes can be especially high. Whether you are a business owner, an executive, or a high-earning professional, safeguarding your financial future is critical. Understanding your rights and taking proactive steps can help you navigate the divorce process with confidence and security. […]
How to Avoid Draining Your Finances in Divorce: Smart Strategies for Women
Divorce is not just emotionally taxing; it can also take a serious financial toll if not handled carefully. For women, the financial stakes can be even higher, especially when balancing career changes, care-giving responsibilities, and long-term financial security. The good news? There are ways to protect your finances while still achieving a fair and equitable […]
Divorce and Family Businesses: Navigating the Challenges
Family businesses often face unique challenges, especially when personal relationships, such as marriages, dissolve. Divorce can significantly impact both the personal and professional dynamics within a family-run enterprise. Drawing from James Grubman’s insights in Strangers in Paradise: How Families Adapt to Wealth Across Generations, we can explore how families navigate these challenges and adapt to […]
Why I Love Collaborative Divorce and Mediation
Recently, I came across a New York Times opinion article by Lara Bazelon titled “Divorce Can Be an Act of Radical Self-Love.” Bazelon, a professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law, shares her divorce experience, and her reflections deeply resonated with my own experiences—both personally and professionally. Competing Roles. Bazelon’s account highlights […]
How To Thrive During The Holidays With A Blended Family
As a mother of two, stepmother of five, and a previous stepmother of five children, I understand firsthand how challenging holidays can be in a blended family. Bringing together two different family cultures is no small feat, and it can be overwhelming to create meaningful holiday memories for everyone involved. In my family law practice, […]
5 Tips for Creating Holiday Parenting Plans that Support Families
Holidays can bring unique challenges for divorced and separated families, as I experienced firsthand with my own children. Their father and I were separated for seven years before finalizing our divorce, and without a formal parenting plan, we relied on conversations to arrange holidays. Birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were especially challenging holidays for our family […]
The Art of Mediation: Navigating Conflict with Skill and Empathy
In a world where conflicts are as common as they are inevitable, mediation emerges as a beacon of hope. Unlike traditional litigation, which often exacerbates disputes and entrenches adversarial positions, mediation offers a collaborative path to resolution. This blog piece delves into the essence of mediation, its benefits, and why it might be the ideal […]
Navigating New Norms: A Guide to “Our Family in Two Homes” Workbook
When families experience separation or divorce, it often creates a whirlwind of emotions and adjustments, particularly for children who may find themselves shuttling between two homes. In these situations, finding the right resources to support kids through such transitions becomes crucial. One valuable tool that I use that is designed for this purpose is the […]
Alimony 101 in Utah
Our Utah legislature was busy this past 2024 session re-numbering the entire family law related statutes. Here’s a chart for easy reference to understand how and when alimony is determined. Any substantive changes are in red and become effective as of September 1, 2024. The purpose of alimony is to avoid a significant disparity between […]
The Soft Side of Finance: Navigating Divorce with Experts Diana & Chalise
Discover how teaming up with Attorney Diana L. Telfer and CDFA Chalise R. Westenskow offers more than just legal and financial advice but a comprehensive support system during divorce CDFAs play a pivotal role in helping couples and their legal representatives craft fair divorce settlements by leveraging their expertise in tax law, asset division, and […]
Money Talks in Divorce: Why You Need a Financial Neutral on Your Team
Learn why the choice of divorce professionals is crucial to the process. I’ve mentioned this in previous blogs but which professionals you choose to retain in your divorce will be the one of the strongest indicators of whether your divorce will be litigated in court. Picking the right professionals is critical to whether your case […]
Embracing Financial Empowerment: A Divorcee’s Journey to Financial Literacy
How the Guidance of a Certified Financial Divorce Advisor Can Change Lives When Sandra walked through my door for her initial consultation, I was quite impressed. She definitely looked the part of a high-power executive. Her walk, handshake, and appearance all exuded confidence. She had risen through the ranks of a successful high-tech company to her current […]
Reflection: The Path to Empowered Advocacy
I was raised to work. My father’s mentality was “God helps those that help themselves.” While my childhood friends enjoyed watching Saturday morning cartoons, I had my weekly chores to complete: cleaning my room, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming and dusting the living rooms and hallways, and then weeding. Growing up in California, weeding was year-round […]
Embracing Growth: Confronting Imposter Syndrome in Professional Women
In the dynamic landscape of the tech industry, my journey was inspired by a remarkable female patent attorney. Little did I know, my curiosity, fueled by a genuine desire to learn, would later uncover a prevalent challenge—imposter syndrome. Join me as I share personal reflections, insights from a revealing study, and explore the transformative power […]
Reflection: The Path To Empowerment
I was raised to work. My father’s mentality was “God helps those that help themselves.” While my childhood friends enjoyed watching Saturday morning cartoons, I had my weekly chores to complete cleaning my room, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, and dusting the living rooms and hallways, and then weeding. Growing up in California, weeding was year-round, […]
How Much Does a Divorce Cost in Utah?
The cost of a divorce in Utah can vary greatly depending on the process chosen for the divorce. In Utah, you can file for divorce on your own. However, the court forms can often create more problems in the future that become costly (emotionally and financially) to fix. Other than a “do-it-yourself “divorce, there are […]
You’ve Decided To Leave Now What
You survived the holidays. The kids are back in school. The end-of-year crunch at work is over. Life should feel good, but it doesn’t. You know you aren’t happy in your relationship. You’ve grown apart from your spouse. You’ve tried marriage counseling, but things have not gotten better. You know the relationship died several years ago but you […]
Welcome to Divorce Reimagined
Have you ever thought that divorce could be a gift? That the brokenness you may feel when realizing your relationship is over is the beginning stage of transformation? Thirteen and a half years ago, I found myself facing the end of my second marriage. In reality, the marriage had died twelve and a half years […]
Child Custody 101
Growing up in the 70s and early 80s, I did not know anyone whose parents were divorced. My first introduction to “child custody” disputes was from watching Kramer v. Kramer, the 1979 movie where the mom (Meryl Streep) abandons her husband and son but returns after 15 months to claim her child. The custody battle involved […]
What Next? – Divorce Options
In the fall of 2020, I found myself in the emergency room. I thought I was having a heart attack. Luckily that wasn’t the case but the doctors had no answers for me. They did not know what was going on. One mentioned a panic attack. Well, whatever it was, it woke me up. For […]