I recently totaled the number of divorce cases that were finalized to Judgment by my solo office in 2014. Out of fourteen (14) cases completed, eight (8) or 57% were collaborative cases with signed Participation Agreements. The cases finished were between 14 and 26 months old.  As we enter the New Year, here’s a toast […]

How magnificent was the IACP Forum in Vancouver last month? It was GREAT! Nearly 500 collaborative professionals from a dozen countries met to learn, network and naturally-  collaborate! It is difficult to put into words the energy and enthusiasm for the collaborative process that infuses everyone who attends. We had ten representatives from the State […]

A little known fact about me is that I am about the twenty-fifth generation and a direct descendent of Governor William Bradford who arrived here on the Mayflower in 1620. Before my marriage, my legal name was Joanne Sara Bradford Overholt and that’s the name on all my diplomas and licenses. Being a blood relative […]

On November 13, Asm. Patrick Diegnan was recognized for his outstanding leadership by the New Jersey Council of Collaborative Practice Groups at a reception held at Olio’s in Woodbridge.  Asm. Diegnan was a prime sponsor and spearheaded passage of the New Jersey Family Collaborative Law Act (NJFCLA) in the State Legislature. The new law. P.L. […]

My family teases me that I am like a bird because  I wake up when the sun rises and go to bed when the sun sets.  I never subscribed to that old saying, “The early bird gets the worm” when I was young.  I thrived on night classes and having breakfast at noon in college. […]

This past summer the Jersey Shore was hit with an unusually large number of extremely loud thunderstorms. One night, the thunder clap that woke me up was so loud that it set off a car’s alarm in the parking lot.  Did the ground shake, or did I imagine that? Hearing the words, “I want a divorce” […]

Tonight the Jersey Shore Collaborative Law Group will be having its semi-annual Invite a Professional Night meeting at Navoo Grill in Fair Haven, New Jersey. We are expecting 35 members and 10 guests.This large group which will bring with it lots of energy, knowledge and enthusiam to the collaborative practice at the Jersey Shore. New attorneys, mental […]

There is no question that divorce frequently rocks the foundation of a family to its core. From that place though, in time, healing and growth emerge. Over the years, I have witnessed many earthquakes in my clients’ lives brought on by affairs, financial dishonesty, substance abuse and other marital calamities. I have reached out to […]

This is article on the topic of spouses  hiding assets during a divorce, from Janet Baker of the Collaborative Law Group of Southern Arizona.

While some people really will never change, I think most of us do as we become more worldly. (My personal euphemism for getting older!) There comes a point in our lives when our ideas, circumstances and goals undergo a fundamental revamping- both physically and emotionally. A popular term to express this transformation is “having a […]