Written By: Kathrine V. Lacey, Esq. Are Your Assets Going Where You Think They Are? A common misconception people have about estate planning is that simply having a Will or Trust is sufficient to limit their spouse’s inheritance. This is not the case in New Hampshire. A well-drafted prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can help ensure …
Category: Articles
Stuck in the Middle – An Adult Child’s View of Litigated Divorce
Courtesy of The Staff at Collaborative Divorce New Hampshire I’ll never forget the day in college when I came home from working two jobs to find my mother hysterically crying after finding divorce papers in my father’s briefcase. My father hadn’t told her that he had met with lawyers and the revelation blindsided her, especially …
I Asked for a Divorce, Now What?
Written By: Cathy McKay Many clients who come in to see me for a divorce ask me this very question: “I’ve told my spouse that I want a divorce, but now what do we do?” The answer is that once you have made the decision to get divorced, you need to decide how to proceed. …
Why Choose Collaborative Divorce
Written By: Anne B. Parsons, Ph.D. In a Collaborative Divorce, the spouses agree to stay out of court and work together with the help of divorce professionals to develop their own settlement agreement that is based on the needs of the spouses and their family. Positives Aspects of the Collaborative Process Collaborative Divorce is focused …
Collaborative Divorce and Family Law: A New Approach to Dispute Resolution
Written By: Kathrine V. Lacey, Esq. The adversarial nature of the Family Court process can cause spouses to become entrenched in their respective positions, creating lasting conflict. This can prevent parties, and their children, from moving on in a healthy manner. New Hampshire now offers an alternative approach under the Collaborative Law Act that takes …
Fear and Loathing in Divorce
Written By: Helen Honorow The American Institute of Stress ranks going through a divorce as the second most stressful life event. The only thing more stressful is the death of a spouse. Both spouses in a divorce have fears about what will happen next. They are unsure of what their life will be like after …
Collaborative Divorce an Alternative To Adversarial Divorce
Written By: Karen Ela Kenny & Ann Conway There has been much discussion about the adverse experiences of divorce litigants and the NH court system. Collaborative Divorce is an alternative to court and is practiced in New Hampshire. The process was codified in our statutes in October 2021 (N.H. RSA Section 490-J) for citizens to use …
What is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA™)?
Written By: Kristina George, CPA, CFP, CDFA Divorce is an extremely turbulent, stressful, and emotional process during which people are tasked with making some of the most important financial decisions of their lives. For better or worse, the reverberations from these financial decisions will impact them for years (if not decades) into the future. So …
Privacy in the Collaborative Process
Written By: Jane M. Schirch, Esq. Many people choose to engage in the collaborative process for many reasons. One of the reasons I hear over and over again from clients that have chosen this process is that it allows them to maintain privacy and confidentiality of their intimate family conflicts. In the traditional divorce process, …
Why a Collaborative Agreement is Better than a Court Order
Written By: Katherine J. Morneau, Esq. There are many reasons individuals seek a collaborative process for their divorce. One of the major benefits of a collaborative divorce is that the agreements are much more comprehensive and tailored to your needs than a Court Order. What happens when a Court makes the Final Orders? When people …