The impact of realistic estrangement on child custody matters
Life After Love Gone Wrong Podcast: Season 3, Episode 3 - Understanding the Role of Parent Coordinators
Jewish Divorce Talk: Episode 8 - Narcissism and Parental Alienation Talk
Jewish Divorce Talk: Episode 1 - Get Refusal Talk
How to Put Your Children First in Co-Parenting
Let's Talk Child Custody and Quarantines
1. Parental alienation involves a parent manipulating a child in a way that causes the child to fear, disrespect, dislike, and reject the other parent. It is often more complicated than it seems, and it is not always to blame...more
Parents often tell me that their individual therapist, former marriage counselor, or even their child’s therapist should have an opinion about the outcome of their custody case. They’ll ask why the judge cannot just speak to...more
Highly contested child custody cases are hard on everyone. The children's routines change. The parents lose the ability to see their children 24/7. None of it is pleasant. But can parents make it worse? Absolutely!...more
I have come to the realization that the longer two people are together in a relationship, not only do they know what makes the other one tick, but they also know what it takes to get under the other’s skin. They know how to...more
Many clients dream of a low-conflict divorce. And for good reason—a peaceful separation benefits everyone involved: the spouses, the children, and even their finances. But what happens when one spouse uses the divorce process...more
“Nesting” is a custody arrangement where, rather than having children move between homes, the children stay in the family home and the parents move back and forth and alternate living there. While it may sound appealing,...more
Many are familiar with parental alienation, where one parent deliberately tries to damage the other parent's relationship with their children, often through persistent efforts to belittle or discredit them. Though this...more
Since the Child Support Guidelines were amended in the late 90s, the number of overnights with each parent factored in to the child support calculus for cases within the Guidelines. In general, the more overnights meant less...more
Absent a waiver, anyone involved in a child custody case in the Massachusetts Probate & Family court – whether via a Complaint for Divorce, Complaint for Separate Support, Complaint to Establish Parentage, or Complaint for...more
When determining child custody, Courts must weigh all factors based on what the judge feels is in the “best interest of the minor child.” Often, it can feel ambiguous in knowing how a judge may rule under this standard, but...more
Lawyers are a jaundiced lot. Law school is a three year exercise in anticipating what can go wrong whether in a trial or a transaction. The lawyer’s job is to anticipate, and course correct to protect the client. Napoleon is...more
This Father’s Day, fathers in Florida have more rights than last Father’s Day. As of July 1, 2023, new laws were enacted in the state. One law requires that a minor child have frequent and continuing contact with both...more
Back on October 6, 2023 we wrote about the concept of sharing custody in a setting where the children stay put and their parents move in and out of the former marital residence. We noted then that the concept can work but...more
When a divorcing parent asks this question, their attorney might respond with the common saying, “Children have a voice, not a choice.” In Washington state, the extent to which a child’s voice is heard in establishing a final...more
As a trial lawyer, there were many days when I would sit in the back of a courtroom and take comfort in the fact that I didn’t have to decide the custody case that I was witnessing as a spectator. At times the facts made the...more
The first page of the non-precedential custody and contempt decision in T.J.N. v. K.M. more or less reflects a lot of the custody cases we have reported on in recent years. “Mother and Father were never...more
During the holidays, families spend time together observing religious, secular, and other personal traditions. For parents living together with their children, planning where everyone should be and when can already be a...more
Almost like King Solomon suggesting that a child be cut in two so that each parent can have half, more and more, I am hearing about judges and custody evaluators who default to 50-50 shared parenting. Now, that isn’t the law....more
Halloween has always been a special holiday for children, and parents enjoy reliving it through their eyes. However, divorce can put a damper on things if the parents do not plan ahead and work together. Here are some tips to...more
Celebrity news often grabs everyone’s attention, especially when it involves a divorce that is playing out both in the court system and in the public eye. Recently, headlines have followed the divorce of celebrity couple Joe...more
Host Eliana Baer and her guest Morton Fridman, M.D. have both seen a rise in narcissistic behavior, and subsequent parental alienation, in the observant Jewish community. Dr. Fridman is a board-certified psychiatrist and...more
While vacations offer a wonderful way for families to spend quality time together as well as relax and recharge, for a parent who is separated from his or her spouse or is otherwise navigating a co-parenting relationship,...more
Did you know that over half of all divorces result from low-conflict relationships? This may seem surprising, but it’s true. When a marriage ends in divorce, especially one that was low conflict, the impact on children can be...more
DEPP V. HEARD DETAILS THE VERY REAL ALLEGATIONS AND ISSUES OF SEVERE SUBSTANCE ABUSE - For the past few weeks, news outlets and social media platforms have been abuzz discussing the celebrity trial of the current moment —...more
Over the past decade plus, I have written about the use, if not misuse/abuse of parent coordinators (PCs) many times on this blog. In fact, one of my most popular posts that continues to be read more than two and a half...more