The divorce rate is falling. Here’s why that’s bad news for some Americans. – Divorce has remained stigmatized in some growing immigrant communities.
Average US Rate on 30-Year Mortgage Rises to 3.86 Percent – Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week yet remained near historic lows reached in May 2013.
Bankruptcy and the economy - New evidence that rules for debtors are too tough
Five Strategies to Get a Better Deal in Mediation – Tilt the process in your favor in a divorce or a dispute with a broker or business partner
The Referral Power Of Divorce Attorneys – Divorce attorneys have enormous influence with their wealthy clients when it comes to recommending other professionals such as other attorney, therapists, and financial advisors.
Bigger Mortgages Likelier to Go Into Foreclosure – Since the recession, the foreclosure rates for more-expensive homes have consistently surpassed those for the overall market.
11 Things To Expect When Splitting From Your Spouse – About to separate or are recently separated? Here are eleven expectations to demystify the crazy train you are about to board and help you navigate the process. Good luck!
Foreclosures Ready for a Comeback – Although the worst days of the home-foreclosure crisis may be behind us, the epochal wave of lost homes isn’t over, and appears to be swelling once again.
6 Steps to Get the Best Mortgage Rates This Spring – With 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages expected to creep upward, keep an eye on your credit score and hold off on transforming your financial picture once you’ve been preapproved.
How to avoid a nasty and costly divorce war – Collaborative divorces, however, are done face to face. Spouses speak for themselves and voice their own interests, along with reaching their own emotional, financial and legal solutions. The divorcing couple can also set their own pace—rather than depending on a judge’s courtroom rhythm.
Foreclosure Starts Climb by 5.5%: Black Knight – Foreclosure starts in January rose to their highest level in 13 months, even as the national mortgage delinquency continued to fall, according to data from Black Knight Financial Services.
Mortgage rates continue their ascent – Mortgage rates continued their ascent this week, pushed upward by a couple of optimistic housing reports.
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Adoption mediation is a process in which birth parents and adopting parents can determine the details of the adoption arrangement and create a legal contract stating those details. In adoption mediation, a trained, neutral, third-party mediator acts as facilitator to the discussion, using his or her knowledge of local, state and federal adoption laws to make the process of reaching contractual agreement as smooth as possible.
There are several ways in which mediation can be useful in adoption situations. Some adoptions may begin as closed adoptions, allowing parties to use adoption mediation to open them up. Other adoptions might begin with no formal contract but end up needing such a contract due to unforeseen changes in living arrangements or patterns of parenting. Still others may have a formal agreement that one or both parties are failing to follow, requiring mediation to put everyone “on the same page.”
Regardless of the scope and depth of a particular adoption arrangement, adoption mediation is a highly successful and cost-effective way to reach a legal settlement concerning an adoption. Adoption mediation is an informal process and is much less stressful than having to appear in court. Adoption mediation also allows the details of the adoption contract to be completely confidential, since mediation does not make details of the dispute or contract a matter of public record like going to court does.
If you are considering adoption, an adoption mediator will be able to help guide you through the process of reaching a formalized agreement between all involved parties. If that formalized agreement needs to be changed in the future for whatever reason, adoption mediation can also be used as a venue to make necessary changes to the paperwork.
The important thing to keep in mind about adoption mediation is that all parties remain in complete control of the outcome of the mediation session. If one or more parties do not agree with the terms of the adoption agreement, that party has the right to reject it and move the matter to the courts in the event that an agreement cannot be reached through mediation.