Groundbreaking Workshop: How To Assist Clients To Become Agreement Ready

April 2, 2019

By Bart Carey, J.D., Cathleen Collinsworth, CDFA®, MAFF®, and Carol Hughes, Ph.D., LMFT

It’s the final meeting in your client’s Collaborative Divorce process. You are looking around the table and see that each client and professional appears ready to proceed. You have thoroughly prepared your client to be able to reach agreement with his spouse. Alas! Within the first half hour of this final meeting you realize that both your client and the other client are tenaciously clinging to their positions! You ask yourself how this could happen?

It’s important for everyone to become Agreement Ready.

Even experienced collaborative divorce practitioners often fail to understand how all professionals on an interdisciplinary team can assist clients, even high-conflict clients, to become Agreement Ready. At CP Cal’s Celebration XIV on Sunday, on April 28, 2019, in San Diego, trainers Bart Carey, Cathleen Collinsworth and … Read More

Nesting for Happier Children – Exciting Workshop at the CP Cal Celebration XIV in San Diego

March 26, 2019

By Ann Gold Buscho, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist and Collaborative Law Coach

When parents are considering separation or divorce, their biggest worry is most often about the children.

Today’s parents increasingly determine to protect their kids from the potential damage that a high-conflict divorce may cause. The best parents are willing to set aside their own anger, sadness, fear or guilt, in order to make a safe nest for their children. Fortunately, there is an alternative to the old-school “broken home.” New approaches, such as “conscious uncoupling” and collaborative divorce, give us hope for a respectful divorce while keeping the welfare of the family in focus.

Nesting Workshop at Celebration XIV

In her workshop on Sunday, April 28, 2019 at the CP Cal Celebration XIV in beautiful San Diego, clinical psychologist, Collaborative Divorce coach and former nester Ann Buscho, Ph.D. will walk you through the necessary steps to guide parents in … Read More

A happy client is a returning client if you offer more than Collaborative Divorce.

April 5, 2018

You’ve successfully negotiated the final Judgment in your client’s divorce which the Court has signed. What’s next? Are you off to seek another client or is there something else you can do for this client?

For a case study, see Annie’s story below:

Right after the divorce

Annie and Lee married in 1982 and split in 2010. During the marriage they had 2 children, both of whom are now adults. During the marriage, Lee worked as an aerospace engineer for Lockheed Martin. Annie worked as head of marketing and public relations for McDonald’s. At the time of filing, the parties agreed to waive spousal support, divide the assets equally and divide the attorney’s fees. They agreed that the matter would proceed by default. A judgment and accompanying documents were prepared and signed by the parties. At the time of the default prove-up, Lee had retired and was living outside the … Read More

How to Increase Divorce Options Attendance and Get Collaborative Cases

March 31, 2018

The Problem and the Solution

Mixed Results for Divorce Options Attendance

Divorce Options (DO) workshops were developed by the Sacramento Collaborative group in association with CP Cal about 10 years ago. The original intent was to position the Collaborative Divorce process as one of four primary divorce options- competitive with litigation, mediation and do-it-yourself divorce. DO workshop presenters have consistently commented that they feel that three hours with a seasoned attorney, mental health and financial professional for little or no cost is a real bargain. Folks should be crowding in line to attend our DO workshops. Indeed, our workshops should be packed full each month.

But DO workshop attendance for many groups in California has been less than desired. Presenter participation has dwindled over time. Some groups are considering consolidating their DO efforts or presenting quarterly instead of monthly. Some are even discontinuing their workshops entirely.

Two practice groups

Divorce Mortgage Advisors presenting Workshop at CP Cal Conference XIII

March 20, 2018

Come to CP Cal Conference XIII!

CP Cal Conference XIII, scheduled for April 27-29, 2018 in San Mateo, California, is getting closer. Please join us at the conference for a workshop on “Divorce Mortgage Financing Strategies”, presented by Divorce Mortgage Advisors.

Divorce Mortgage Advisors

Divorce Mortgage Advisors was founded under the premise that family law professionals and their clients deserve expert guidance on how to achieve mortgage related goals within the divorce settlement process. The company’s co-founders, Ross Garcia, a Certified Divorce Lending Professional, and Jason Crowley, CFA, CFP, CDFA, bring a wealth of experience in divorce finance.

Divorce Mortgage Financing Strategies Workshop

In this presentation “Divorce Mortgage Financing Strategies”, Ross Garcia and Jason Crowley will address the common questions they receive about divorcing clients and their ability (or inability) to qualify for a mortgage pre- or post-settlement.

The up-front analysis that the company offers applies to all … Read More

Child Specialists Help Your Kids Understand Their Feelings During Your Divorce

March 23, 2017

If you think divorce is rough on you (and it most certainly is a difficult experience), imagine coping with divorce when you are a child who lacks the emotional maturity and understanding to grasp what it happening and who is powerless to do anything about it.

Child specialists are an invaluable resource during your divorce. Sadly, child specialists are an unrecognized resource not used as effectively as they could be as part of the Collaborative Divorce process.

Here are four ways you can benefit from working with a trained Child Specialist during your Collaborative Divorce.

1. Your children have a “voice” in the divorce process

Experienced Collaborative professionals agree that children benefit from having their own “voice” in the process. Older children appreciate being able to express their concerns and needs. The Child Specialist is the conduit for the child’s participation in the process. These meetings offer children of any … Read More