When it comes to divorce it is the emotional roller coaster that is the hardest part to both experience and manage. One moment you will feel ‘I’ve got this’ only to feel like you are upside down and have no idea where to turn a few moments later. Divorce is a process of change. You […]
Most people experiencing divorce say they ‘just want it to be over’. What they are really saying is that they want the feelings and emotions to have passed. So if you are thinking of divorce here are 10 things you will need to get you through and out the other side in one piece
It’s been a week of ups and downs for me, and so what better thing to do than write about it. Because sometimes telling yourself to pull your socks up, pick your chin up and keep moving works and other times it doesn’t work as well. I spend my days handing out advice to people […]
I love a guest blogger and this week my fellow Family Lawyer, Fiona Caulley is sharing her learning on Mindfulness and its application to our daily practice of law. I had the pleasure of hearing Fiona present on this topic last weekend at a conference we were both involved in. I loved it! So much […]
Oh St Valentine! Once a year you appear to remind us of all the beauty that love brings. Which is fine when you are in those early loved up stages of a relationship, when every day feels like Valentine’s Day. But if you are in the thick of managing the great ups and downs of […]
‘Leadership’. It is a word that is thrown around workplaces all the time but sometimes with so little thought. I am a leader and there are many days when I wish I could sneak into my office, hide behind my desk and leave all that leadership business to someone else! Because being a leader […]
Divorce is one of the most significant grief events many of us will ever suffer. Is it any wonder then, that during divorce, good people suddenly seem to be mad? As a Divorce Lawyer I have seen it all. People who in any other situation are entirely ‘normal’ all of a sudden turn into crazy […]
When I look back on the year that has been 2015 I will remember it for my daily pursuit of ‘happiness’. It’s not that I spent the years prior to 2015 being unhappy- it is just that this year I read, learned, listened and practiced all sorts of things to consciously understand just what being […]
I don’t know about you but it’s Christmas party season for me. This means lots of professional events and lots of fun and catch-ups, but it also tends to mean lots of conversations with people that I don’t know so well. And at each one of these events lately, the conversation seems to go like […]
I expect many of you, like me, have struggled to accept the news that has been all around us these past days. Here in Queensland this week we have seen another two women and a child killed by men who supposedly cared deeply for them. And then when we look back to the beginning of this […]
This past week I have been enjoying a long awaited family holiday. Oliver, London and I have made our way (along with Ollie’s mum) to Queenstown, New Zealand. It has been beautiful. We have been skiing the slopes, sitting in front of log fires, enjoying lovely dinners out and all that fun holiday stuff. But […]
Whether it was watching my parents, learning myself or helping people every day for the past 15 years fall ‘out of love’ I have come to learn a few things about relationships as a divorce lawyer so this week I thought I would share my 3 biggest learnings.
Almost this time last year Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin hit the front pages of the news with their wacky idea that they were ‘consciously uncoupling’. They were not ‘getting a divorce’ instead they had made a conscious decision to bring their marriage to an end in a positive way. In fact they had untangled their […]
If you’ve made the decision to separate, the next question is often ‘where do I start?’ Where possible, I recommend keeping your lives ‘the same’ in the short term to give yourselves time to properly plan where you might both go next. It is often not necessary for your finances to immediately change a day […]
Today, exactly 6 years ago, I was dancing around a small town hall, with my closest friends and family, celebrating my marriage. It was a remarkable day (save for the rain and yes, I know that is meant to be a sign of good luck) and a day I will always look back on and […]
This week I have an admission to make. I have an addiction. Every Wednesday and Thursday evening for the past 10 or so weeks I have rushed home and taken up a seat to avidly watch 30 or so girls have their hearts unceremoniously broken on the national TV show, ‘The Bachelor’. And it turns out […]
As most of you know, I heavily advocate for families who are experiencing separation and divorce to do everything they can to stay away from the Family Court process. After 14 years working in the family law system, I have experienced firsthand the difficulties faced by families who find themselves before the Courts. The Court […]
Last week I was thrilled to be asked to be a regular monthly writer for the magazine ‘I AM WOMAN'(www.iamwomanmagazine.com.au) My first article was published last week and I thought I would share it with you- From a young age we learn to believe in love and all the beauty it can bring. As young […]
Divorce is said to be one of the most significant grief events many of us will ever suffer. Is it any wonder then, that during divorce, good people suddenly seem to be mad? As a Divorce Lawyer I have seen it all. People who in any other situation are entirely ‘normal’ all of a sudden […]
After a week of fine tuning my book and finally pressing send on the email to my editor “Splitsville- How to separate, stay out of Court and stay friends”- is almost here so I decided I might share with you an extract- _____________________________________________________________________________ From Chapter 2 – WHERE DO I BEGIN? – THE BIG DECISION TO SEPARATE […]
What would you do with $100,000? Did you know that the financial outlay for your family to begin and finish a case before the Family Courts here in Australia, will be more than $100,000. This is almost a conservative estimate- I have no doubt that many families have spent many more thousands over the years […]
This week I had cause to remind myself just how grateful I am for the life I have been lucky enough to enjoy. The challenges that people face and overcome never cease to amaze me. After a long discussion this week I was reminded that you can find positives in even the most challenging of […]
Almost all of us have had our hearts broken at some stage in our lives. For me, it first happened when I was 16 years of age. I still remember those feelings so well- waking up each morning, those first few seconds when my world seemed okay, before that moment where everything seemed to stop. […]
‘Conscious Uncoupling’, a phrase that now seems so common and yet is so new to the dialogue of divorce thanks to Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin who announced their decision to “consciously uncouple” on the 25th March 2014. Since then I’ve read with interest the varied commentary on their decision and this supposedly new concept […]
All is not fair in love and divorce. This morning while trying to drag myself from bed with my almost two year old jumping on my head I managed to hear a headline on TV- “A law firm with a difference- they only represent men. It is the only way that men can get a […]
When life gives you lemons make margaritas. The last few weeks I have been finishing off the manuscript for my book and in the process I have been seeking input from friends, clients and colleagues, who all have had some experience with divorce. It has been so interesting reading what everyone has to say. There […]
I had the privilege of meeting with a new client this afternoon. I have heard the first appointment between client and lawyer described as a bit like a ‘first date’- full of anticipation and nerves and with a mutual hope of a long lasting and successful relationship. Sometimes these appointments are easy and other times ‘hard’. Today, […]
