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Divorce Procedures and Choices

  • Process Differences between Collaborative Law, Litigation and Mediation – The Process Chosen Can Make All the Difference

    During a consultation with one of the attorneys in our office, we customarily will review the different process options  to divorce. (There are three ways and Lazar & Schwartz does all of them.)    As experienced attorneys, we have learned how important it is to educate our clients from the moment we meet, about their options…

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  • Legal Consultations–Fee or Free?

    WHY SOME LAWYERS CHARGE A CONSULTATION FEE AND SOME DON’T We are sometimes asked why we charge a consultation fee when some attorneys give free consults.  Our reasons are rooted in the quality of a potential client’s decision-making following the consultation. At Lazar & Schwartz we don’t treat the consultation as a chance to sell…

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  • Family Offense Petitions

    WHAT IS A FAMILY OFFENSE PETITION AND HOW DO I KNOW IF I NEED ONE? DO YOU FEEL UNSAFE?  The breakup of a family, no matter how civil or calm, can be tense and stressful for all its members.  People who have behaved rationally in the past may not do so during this time, and…

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  • Introducing Your New Love to Your Children

    WHETHER, WHEN AND HOW TO INTRODUCE YOUR KIDS AND YOUR NEW SIGNIFICANT OTHER You’re divorced or separated and you’re dating someone you’re serious about. You want to introduce your new partner to your children. You want this introduction to go well. After all, these are the most important people in your life. How do you…

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  • Holiday Blues

    STRESS MANAGEMENT AT HOLIDAY TIME BEGINS WITH YOU There are many articles about ways to manage stressful family situations during the holidays, especially situations involving children.  There are articles about two-house families post-divorce, blended families (yours, mine, ours), loyalty to multiple families, stress around step-families, toxic and dysfunctional families, dreading and avoiding family at holidays, family-related tension at holidays, surviving the family holiday, family fights at holidays — you name it.…

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  • Divorcing and Difficult Conversations – Where to Begin

    DEALING PRODUCTIVELY WITH CHANGE TAKES COURAGE — BUT IT’S WORTH THE EFFORT Getting separated or divorced often requires having many difficult conversations.  Sometimes it is hard to know where to start.  If you are in the process of divorcing or are considering separation, read on. One of the better books on this topic is “Difficult Conversations: …

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  • High Net Worth Divorces

    HIGH NET WORTH NEED NOT COMPLICATE YOUR DIVORCE  —  IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT LAWYER Is yours a high net worth divorce? The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission(“SEC”) defines a “high-net-worth individual” as an individual with at least $1,000,000 managed by his/her registered investment adviser, or whose net worth the investment adviser reasonably believes exceeds $2,000,000. The…

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  • Divorce–Now or Later? Or Much Later?

    WHEN TO DIVORCE?  TIMING IS EVERYTHING. Deciding to divorce is one choice; deciding when to divorce is another. Some seek divorce quickly upon encountering difficulties in their marriage; others wait.  That wait might be months, or it might be years. This post covers some timing considerations that come into play for many.  While we can outline…

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  • Children’s Needs in Divorce

    FEEDBACK FROM CHILDREN OF DIVORCED PARENTS — WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN’T One of our collaborative divorce colleagues interviewed a group of teens and young adults with divorced parents about their thoughts and feelings following the divorce. Their responses may help divorcing parents to make decisions that support  their children’s ability to cope with the…

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  • Divorce — the legal process

    A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO WHAT HAPPENS IN DIVORCE Wishing you had a road map for your divorce? This article gives you the procedural basics. For purposes of this primer, we’ll assume the divorce case (called an action) is initiated by you. In legal terms, that means you are the plaintiff and your spouse the defendant.…

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  • How to save money in your divorce

    IF YOU LITIGATE, HERE ARE SOME MONEY-SAVING TIPS Let’s be honest: divorce costs money, and litigation is the most expensive way to do it. Here are my top 10 ways to economize in a litigated divorce: Gather as much financial information by yourself as you can. Ideally this includes information for you and your spouse,…

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  • Splitting annuities in divorce

    Is an annuity account in your divorce picture? An annuity can seem harder to split than a marriage, according to an article in the May 2016 issue of Research Magazine. An annuity account gives the account holder the  right to receive periodic payments, usually fixed in amount, for life or a term of years. Unlike pensions,…

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