August 30, 2012

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Divorce and Social Networking Sites - According to Divorce-Online, Facebook was named in one-third of all divorce filings in 2011. So, whether you are already in the midst of your divorce and letting your Facebook friends know what is going on or if you are engaged in activities that can be found out about because of the social networking information you have made available about yourself, that information is more than likely going to be seen by people you would rather did not have access to it. And remember, there is no way to un-ring the bell.

The Seven Virtues of Divorce - Let’s just face the simple math of marriage for a moment, that one of every two wedded unions in the US ends in divorce.  By itself, this statistic says nothing about whether divorce is bad or good — it simply tells us that it happens all the time.  If you are in a restaurant with your spouse eating dinner next to a married couple, you can know with sun-rising certainty that one of your marriages will eventually end in divorce.

Can Mediation Help in an Antagonistic Relationship?

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When two (or more) people are involved in a dispute, mediation is often the best way to settle the conflict.  This is especially true if that dispute is the end result of a relationship that was once good but has turned sour.  People who are dealing with wounded feelings and pride due to a separation, divorce, betrayal, or a financial dispute find it difficult to reconcile on their own – and when lawyers get involved, this difficulty is usually compounded exponentially.
The mediation process, on the other hand, involves a non-biased third party (including one or several mediators) that will listen to each party involved in the dispute individually and weigh all factors involved.  This allows the parties in conflict to feel that they have had ample opportunity to state their case and be heard fairly.  It is generally the case that the result of this calms both parties down to a point where there is opportunity for reasonable, rational discourse concerning what is fair for everyone involved.
Taking a case through litigation (a court trial), on the other hand, often has the opposite effect.  When parties involved in an antagonistic relationship are in the heat of dispute and lawyers get involved, the dispute is often heightened.  This causes antagonism to build and when that happens, the parties involved in the dispute will often react in a stubborn, aggressive, or overly defensive manner, making a reasonable discussion difficult to achieve.
This is why mediation is the best way to handle disputes between antagonistic parties.  It is also much cheaper often costing the parties thousands of dollars less than litigation would cost.  Combined with the fact that it often calms antagonism, mediation is the best way to handle disputes that would otherwise be taken to the courts, and is just as legally binding as a court-ordered decision.

Top Tips for Having a Difficult Conversation

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Involved in a dispute or difficult conflict with another person?  If so, you might be handling things the wrong way and adding to the conflict rather than resolving it.  Below are some of the top tips to having a difficult conversation with someone in order to minimize conflict as much as possible:

  1. Be clear with your message and purpose.  Conflict requires openness and honesty before a resolution to it can be reached.  Be specific about why you are having the discussion and what you hope to gain from it.
  2. Don’t assume the worst.  Often, conflict can be worsened because we enter into the conversation with our own ideas of the other person.  “They are selfish,” “they don’t care if they hurt me,” etc., are all mentalities that can hamper the resolution process and should be avoided if you hope to accomplish something with the discussion.  Don’t assume that the other person is spiteful, hurtful, or vengeful; assume that it is simply a matter of faulty communication and things left unsaid instead.
  3. Make the other person feel safe.  When you enter into a conversation in attack mode, the other person involved will enter into it in defensive mode.  Nothing gets accomplished like this and communication is weakened by the emotional interplay occurring.  If you need to have a difficult conversation with someone, it is important that first and foremost you make them feel safe.  Let them know that you plan to listen to their side of the story and see everything from their perspective.  Only then can honest (and useful) communication happen.
  4. Recognize and acknowledge emotions involved.  There’s a difference between ignoring emotions and avoiding becoming emotional.  When you ignore emotions and refuse to communicate them, you are setting yourself up to fail in the resolution process because emotions MUST be acknowledged.  However, becoming overly emotional (through tears, anger, raised voices, etc.) usually does more to hamper the conflict resolution process than help it.  Learning to walk the line between recognizing/accepting emotions and letting them get the upper hand is crucial.

August 27, 2012

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Divorce and Social Networking Sites - According to Divorce-Online, Facebook was named in one-third of all divorce filings in 2011. So, whether you are already in the midst of your divorce and letting your Facebook friends know what is going on or if you are engaged in activities that can be found out about because of the social networking information you have made available about yourself, that information is more than likely going to be seen by people you would rather did not have access to it. And remember, there is no way to un-ring the bell.

The Seven Virtues of Divorce - Let’s just face the simple math of marriage for a moment, that one of every two wedded unions in the US ends in divorce.  By itself, this statistic says nothing about whether divorce is bad or good — it simply tells us that it happens all the time.  If you are in a restaurant with your spouse eating dinner next to a married couple, you can know with sun-rising certainty that one of your marriages will eventually end in divorce.

Mediation.com and Arbitration.com Team up with Judgment Collection Service to Help Clients Recover Debt

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As two of the top online portals for connecting mediation and arbitration attorneys with clients who need their services, Mediation.com and Arbitration.com have teamed up and announced a joint alliance with Collect Any Judgment (http://www.collectanyjudgment.com) to offer clients a guaranteed, legal, and effective method of business and consumer asset location.

While there are millions of dollars awarded annually through judgments in the U.S. courts, recent figures show that nearly 80% of those judgments remain uncollected.  Some of these judgments are essentially ignored, despite the fact that the person to whom the judgment is against has the money locked away in safe deposit boxes and bank accounts.  These accounts might be cleverly hidden or put in a family member’s name, but won’t stay hidden in the shadows for long, thanks to the recovery efforts and research conducted by Collect Any Judgments.

Not only does Collect Any Judgment seek out these accounts in order to recover what is owed to their clients, they are now able to pair with mediation and arbitration attorneys to convince the debtors hiding their wealth to pay what is owed based on court judgments against them.  In doing so, they have been able to help thousands of companies and individuals worldwide to recover their money.

Since mediation and arbitration are both often preferable to litigation in reducing conflict and resolving debt, this judgment collection service, combined with the expertise of the hundreds of attorneys that are part of the Mediation.com and Arbitration.com network, makes this new alliance a formidable force indeed for anyone who attempts to hide their assets when money is owed.

August, 23, 2012

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Mediation In Lieu of Foreclosure Many Foreclosure - Mediations have ended in a HAMP (Home Affordable Mortgage Program) modification, which the homeowner is entitled to anyway without the time and expense of mediation.  While Foreclosure Mediations are no longer mandated in Florida, homeowner distress—mental and in real estate—continues to thrive in mediations and other legal procedures.

How To Tell Your Children About Divorce In Ten Steps - There are few harder moments in parenthood than telling your kids that it’s over between mommy and daddy.