Introducing the Divorce Without Dishonor
Monthly E-Newsletter
Welcome to the first issue of the Divorce Without Dishonor monthly e-newsletter. The purpose of our e-newsletter is to keep you informed on collaborative divorce topics, family issues, visitation and custody rights, and information to promote healing after divorce.
We invite you to confirm your e-newsletter subscription by clicking a link at the bottom of the page to manage your subscription. If you choose to not receive our mailings, just visit the manage your subscription page to remove yourself from our subscriber database.
We hope that you will choose to stay subscribed and share our e-newsletter with others who may be struggling with many of these issues as well. As always, we never share our email lists with others or sell or rent our list to third parties. We won't spam you either, we will simply work hard to keep you informed and entertained.
In early spring, Amazon.com will be selling my new book "Stop Fighting Over the Kids, Resolving Day-to-Day Custody Conflict in Divorce Situations" by Mike Mastracci. If you would like notice of the book release, let us know and we'll send you a note when it is available for purchase.
Welcome!
Michael A. Mastracci
Attorney and Author
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Coping With Divorce During the Holidays
Coping with divorce seems especially difficult during the holidays. Sadness, anger, and regret overwhelm you at a time that should be exciting and happy. Memories of happier times emphasize the unwelcome changes divorce brings. You may dread holiday get-togethers that you used to anticipate with pleasure. It's difficult enough to deal with your own emotions; facing family and friends is often too much to bear. Financial uncertainty may create worry where once you enjoyed generosity. For children, divorce turns the holidays upside down. They are torn, wanting to be with both parents. They worry that the holidays won't be the same. Will they see grandma? Will Santa find them? Will they get any presents? They hide their bigger fears about how divorce will change the family behind a litany of fears about holiday activities and traditions.
Other than perhaps the death of a parent, divorce is often the single most traumatic event in a child's life. In America 60% of all marriages end in divorce and a third of those divorces involve bitter conflict. One million children in our country are involved in divorce each year. As typically practiced in America, divorce rips asunder the very foundation of a child's world. It shatters the family structure, destroys communication between the parents, and irrevocably changes the child's relationship with each parent. Children suffer not only their own fears and misery over the loss of the family but, too often, are used as pawns by one parent to hurt the other. Out of anger or emotional need, one parent may seek to monopolize the child's time and affection to the exclusion of the other parent. There are no winners in a divorce. Everyone loses, but the children lose most of all.
How a couple divorces has far greater impact on their children than the actual separation, researchers have found. Weary of acrimonious divorce battles and the expense and emotional damage they cause, legal professionals sought a more constructive way to dissolve marriage, giving birth to Collaborative Family Law in 1990. Collaborative law focuses on divorce not just as a painful ending but as an opportunity for a new beginning. Stressing cooperation over confrontation and resolution over revenge, collaborative divorce is transforming how couples dissolve their marriages, divide their assets, and reinvent their post-divorce parenting relationships.
Taking place outside the court process, collaborative practice uses a cooperative team approach in which both parties and their respective attorneys meet together, sometimes advised by financial or child experts. During meetings, parents learn and practice open communication, self-management and negotiation skills that can form the basis for successful future interactions. They learn to manage and reduce conflict and the anguish and divided loyalties it can engender in their children. Through collaboration, parents have the opportunity to lay a foundation for the respectful, cooperative parenting of their children. Agreements are reached jointly in the collaborative process and seek to accomplish the goals of both parties while preserving the welfare of the entire family, particularly the children. Through collaborative divorce, couples have the opportunity to emerge with a fair settlement and peaceable relationship that minimizes the negative effects of divorce on their children. That's a holiday gift more precious than gold.
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Visit Our Blog Divorce Without Dishonor
We've got a companion blog to our e-newsletter! With great content added throughout the week, you're sure to find something new and interesting every time you visit. Here's a brief list and links to some of the posts that we've had in just the last several weeks.
Kevin Federline Named "Father of the Year"!
New Game Helps Kids Cope With Divorce
Coping With Divorce During the Holidays Some Tips to Follow
Things a Father Needs to Know About Parenting
What Is the Divorce Coach's Role in Collaborative Divorce?
Talking to Your Children About Divorce
We invite you to visit our blog Divorce Without Dishonor online at http://www.DivorceWithoutDishonor.com. There you'll find great content, interesting tips and information on topics we are sure you will find interesting and inspirational. Check frequently as we update information throughout the week.
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