March 7, 2023 -   My last article spoke about how high mortgage interest rates could complicate a buyout in your divorce mediation. In the second article of this series, we explore how a partial buyout might be the answer for the person who is not staying in the home but needs to have some cash right away. There are a couple of options that might allow this to work for your divorce. If you would like more information about mediation, prenups and family law, check out my website [...]

February 22, 2023 - This article is the beginning of a series about the disposition of the marital home for couples with children. When there are no children in the marriage, the usual plan for a divorcing couple is to sell and divide the proceeds. When there are children, one party may buy out the other in order for the children to remain in their school district, but today’s higher interest rates may complicate the buyout and the divorce.If you would like more information about me [...]

January 25, 2023 -   I had a couple who came to mediation from family court. They worked through all the issues of their parenting plan, except for one minor issue. They decided to go back to family court and ask the judge to make the decision for them. Sounds easy, but that’s not exactly how it worked out. If you would like more information about mediation, prenups and family law, check out my website — ClarePiroMediation.com.     [...]

November 16, 2022 -   No couple gets married expecting to be divorced, but when creating a prenuptial agreement most couples decide to include a term defining what will be considered marital and separate property. If the couple defines them in a way that limits them, then obviously, there will be limited assets subject to distribution if they do get divorced. If you would like more information about mediation and prenups, check out my website — ClarePiroMediation.com. [...]

September 28, 2022 -   Prenups get a bad rap, but there are times when they may be appropriate. This video looks at some circumstances where one party may have a concern that they feel would be addressed best with a prenup. Valid reasons or not, this could still be a difficult conversation to have with your fiance, so have the discussion as far in advance of your marriage as you can. If you would like more information about mediation and prenups, check out my website — ClarePir [...]

September 15, 2022 - {3 minutes to read} If you and your spouse have a lot of conflict between you, you're going to want to have as much detail as possible in your parenting agreement. Here are a few tips that can help you to achieve that during your mediation.  1. Speak Up.    Clearly, your mediator is going to be aware of the level of conflict between the two of you and will raise the issues that are most commonly addressed in Separation Agreements in terms of parent [...]

August 10, 2022 -   So, what is a sunset clause? By definition, it means that after a defined period of time, the clause has no effect. In a prenup, a sunset clause can take different forms but usually refers to voiding the agreement or only certain terms of the agreement after a period of time. In some cases, certain terms are actually expanded. Whether or not it's right for you is clearly something that the two of you need to decide. If you would like more information about medi [...]

July 13, 2022 - Sometimes there isn’t a lot of conflict between you and your spouse, and you feel that you won’t have any problems with joint decision making but including a default provision in your agreement, just in case things don't go as expected, might be wise. If you would like more information about mediation and joint decision making, check out my website — ClarePiroMediation.com. [...]

June 24, 2022 -   This video is about hope and the support that my friend Julie received from the group Support Connection, prior to her death from ovarian cancer. Like anyone given this diagnosis, she felt alone and scared and had no idea where to turn for help. But then, she found Support Connection, a lifeline for women who have breast or ovarian cancer. Julie not only found hope but was able to give support and inspiration to others. So much so, that in 2018 she was given th [...]

May 24, 2022 -   As is often the answer to questions like this, it depends. In this case, however, the answer may depend on how you define success. What are your measurement criteria? Just ending up with a signed Separation Agreement might be one, but in this video, I look at some other aspects of the mediation process that may also be valid reasons for success.If you think that mediation is the process for you, check out my website — ClarePiroMediation.com. [...]

April 20, 2022 - {3 minutes to read} When I meet with clients who will have difficulty in making joint decisions about their children after the Separation Agreement is signed, the first thing we do is discuss a structure that will help them. If their level of conflict is so high that even after such a process, they STILL will be in conflict, we will discuss if they could agree to one parent making the final decisions. Or having one parent make final decisions regarding education issues [...]

April 6, 2022 -   I remember when I used to represent clients in adversarial settings long ago, I would have some clients who would win in the sense that they got what they wanted but they weren't happy. I also had some clients who settled, and they weren't too happy, either. Now, I am definitely not saying that all mediation clients are happy. Happiness is a tough concept when you're talking about the end of a relationship but I often see a level of contentment in mediation cli [...]