As hard as it may be to believe, the holiday season is just around the corner. While you're still enjoying summer vacations and starting back-to-school shopping, retailers are already preparing for Halloween, and then Christmas decorations won't be far behind.

The same rapid pace that carries us from late summer to New Year's can also create significant challenges for divorced and separated parents. Holiday parenting schedules often require more planning, flexibility, and communication than any other time of year. Waiting until November to discuss Thanksgiving or Christmas parenting time can leave parents scrambling to resolve disagreements when everyone is already juggling school events, family gatherings, travel plans, and holiday obligations.

The good news is that many of these issues are entirely preventable. The best time to prepare for the holidays is now! More >

As the summer draws to a close, the dreaded back-to-school season begins for students everywhere. Lazy days by the pool or sleeping in give way to the hectic schedule of dropoffs, pickups, extracurriculars, and, occasionally, studying and homework. For divorced parents or parents sharing custody of their children with the other parent, this seismic shift in schedule can become a visitation nightmare, especially as kids get older. Planning for the school year in advance can solve a multitude of parental headaches before they become a semester of pain. More >

There are few more emotional matters than negotiation of child custody arrangements. Divorcing parents find themselves facing a new normal in the unfortunate reality that they will spend less time with their children going forward than they have in the past. Luckily, there is plenty of law and precedent that now guides proceedings, and Kentucky has been the state leading the way with regards to child custody arrangements. More >

The holiday season brings joy and festivities, but shared custody arrangements can make scheduling stressful for families. With some preparation, you can create a joyful and smooth experience for everyone. Here's a helpful holiday custody arrangement checklist to make this season cheerful, simple, and enjoyable! More >

Most people create their estate plans while they are married—leaving all of their assets to the surviving spouse and putting the surviving spouse in charge of their affairs upon death or incapacity. However, if you’ve recently gotten divorced and haven’t touched your estate plan since, an update is long overdue. More >

Spring break is now over but it is never too late to plan for the summer.  Unfortunately, those sunny days can turn into a dark cloud trying to split parenting time with an ex-spouse or co-parent. Now is the time to get ahead on establishing your summer plans and to avoid last minute scheduling-conflicts. Here are a few tips that can help you have a stress-free summer. More >

With any major life process, especially one concerning an institution such as marriage, there are bound to be collective popular notions about what happens throughout. This can make the divorce process more difficult in that divorcing spouses may come to the table convinced that the outcome can only go one way, and therefore they resign themselves to what they believe is a predetermined result. This cannot be further from the truth, so below are five of the most common misconceptions about divorce and a brief explanation about why they’re false. More >

It can probably go without saying that divorce can be a contentious process with strong emotions on all sides. When things heat up, it’s tempting to accept that a divorce can and should be all-out warfare in a courtroom, but is that really the best course of action for all involved? Does divorce (or any other family law issue) always require a fully adversarial process? In a word, no. Luckily, there is another option that is more cost-effective, less adversarial, and more often leads to positive outcomes – mediation. Below are four reasons why family law mediation might be the right choice for your family law issue. More >

Changing a child support order: It’s a relatively easy thing to get wrong, and it probably leads to more infighting between divorced former spouses than necessary. When is the right time to change a child support order? For an ex-spouse receiving child support, the answer might be any time the paying spouse gets an income boost. On the other hand, the paying spouse might protest that the only time to change the order is when she or he wins the lottery. Of course, they’d both be wrong, and the lines are fairly clear. More >

There are few times in your life that are more fraught with adversity and emotional consequences than the divorce process. It is a rocky enough process to attempt without the added strain of doing it without legal assistance. At the same time, choosing a divorce attorney comes with a different set of worries.  The first step in any divorce process should be a thoughtful and considered approach to hiring a legal professional to handle your case. I’ve assembled some tips below that should make the search for just the right attorney easier. More >