A recent study showed that couples who began their lives together by co-habiting before marriage had a higher rate of divorce than those who waited until the knot was tied. (The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage-nytimes.com)
Considering that 50% of all marriages already end in divorce, it seems counter-intuitive that having a “test-run” would cause even more break-ups.
Most “20-somethings” think it makes sense to live together before taking the plunge. But the evidence is different. It seems… More

There is an important article in the July 9, 2011 issue of the Wall Street Journal: “The Divorce Generation”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303544604576430341393583056.html?KEYWORDS=the+divorce+generation 

  The article reveals the problems of the  adult children of divorced parents and their fear that they will follow in same miserable footsteps. Divorce is far more devastating on these people than we thought. They lived through the trauma of fights over custody, parenting time,  and unpaid child support. Being shuttled back and forth every few days or worse, rarely seeing the… More

Up to now, we’ve been talking about what you should be asking a prospective divorce lawyer in Kalamazoo. In a later blog, I’ll summarize all the questions to ask her as well as the questions you should ask yourself to determine what you really need.

Here we’re going to examine what’s going on in the attorney’s mind when he or she looks across the desk at a prospective client. You might find the comments blunt and even  ”off-putting” but the… More

The March 2011 issue of the Michigan Family Law Journal features an article by Carole Chiamp, a Detroit mediator and attorney, that compares the outcomes of 400 divorce cases; half of which were mediatied and the other half litigated.

There are several useful conclusions for you to take from the article, especially if you’re considering mediation but believe that taking a hard position in a contested court fight will better  protect your rights and get you more.

First, there was… More

If you’re reading this blog, then you’re probably committed to finding the Kalamazoo divorce lawyer who fits your needs. So let’s start at the very beginning.

What exactly are your needs? Have you been blindsided by a spouse who has already filed for divorce and hired the toughest lawyer in town? Has he or she emptied the bank accounts and run up unpayable bills? Or, have the two of you just drifted apart and you’re working together to reach an… More

In the President’s  speech to the nation from Tucson on January 12th, he singled out for our attention the innocent child Christina Taylor Green who was gunned down by the madman Jared Loughner. He said that she was just awakening to the political life in a democracy and that she had high expectations and dreams for that life. The sentence that resonated for the listener was the President’s pledge that he and we must live up to Christina’s expectations.

I… More

President Obama’s speech in Tucson attempted to lay to rest or at least quiet down the huge uproar in the media as to who was to blame for the murder of 6 people and the wounding of 14 more. Instinctive biases and animosities led some of the political “usual suspects” to blame the shooting on their enemies. In this case, it was the left blaming Sarah Palin and talk radio for the climate that led to the murders.  As it turned… More