Entries by Jill Breslau

Gratitude

My good friend, Pat Seaver (Patricia J. Seaver, MSW, LICSW, www.4positivetransitions.com), thought I should offer something more upbeat about coping with divorce, especially during the holidays.  Her comments follow: “Divorce can take a serious emotional, physical, and psychological toll on you. It is common for people in divorce to focus on anger, resentment, anxiety and other […]

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Custody in Same Sex Marriages

A few years ago, I heard the heart-wrenching story of a woman–I’ll call her “Julie”–whose same sex partner adopted a little girl from China.  Both women actively participated in the life of this child; both of them considered her their daughter.  But Julie didn’t think to seek formal adoption. When the two women separated, Julie’s […]

Who Gets Rover?

“He might be cute and he might be furry, but he’s still property.” — Trial judge in a New Jersey divorce case Reported cases may not reveal the degree to which pet disputes are part of divorce.  But consider these statistics.  Approximately one of every two marriages in the United States ends in divorce every […]

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Substance, Processes, and Values in Divorce

Substance When clients talk to me about divorce, their focus is usually on the substance, that is, the decisions that have to be made on issues like legal and physical custody of their children, child support, alimony, and how to divide their property.  It is, of course, critically important to make thoughtful and reasonable decisions […]