Westchester Divorce Lawyer – Arnold D. Cribari

Divorce: To Mediate, Collaborate or Litigate, – That is The Question.

Published in Financial Planning Association of the Greater Hudson Valley, Spring 2009 Newsletter

When confronted with a divorce, you don’t need to be a legal scholar to know the risks of going to trial and having a judge decide the issues in a court of law. Just talk to your friends and relatives who have been through a bitter divorce in the courts, or to any honest divorce lawyer. They will tell you that the costs, both financially and emotionally, of a court battle in a divorce can be ruinous, not only for the divorcing couple but also for their children.

Published in Financial Planning Association of the Greater Hudson Valley, Spring 2009 Newsletter When confronted with a divorce, you don’t need to be a legal scholar to know the risks of going to trial and having a judge decide the issues in a court of law. Just talk to your friends and relatives who have been through a bitter divorce in the courts, or to any honest divorce lawyer. They will tell you that the costs, both financially and emotionally, of a court battle in a divorce can be ruinous, not only for the divorcing couple but also for their children.

Restraining the Custodial Parent from Relocating the Child to a Distant Domicile

Published in the Domestic Law, May 1988 It’s an emergency! A new client, Mr. Stayput, telephones you in a panic. His former wife, the custodial parent, has threatened to leave the jurisdiction with their child and relocate to a distant state by the end of the month. She plans to marry and become Mrs. Gogo, hereafter referred to by that name. Unless you can restrain Mrs. Gogo from so relocating, Mr. Stayput, at worst, may never see his child again; or, at best, will never see his child as often. Neither option is satisfactory. Everyone involved has a lot at stake. Mr. Stayput wants to prevent the potential irrevocable damage to his relationship with his child. Mrs. Gogo may have at stake her remarriage plans, better employment opportunities in the foreign jurisdiction for herself and/or her fiancé (Mr. Gogo), and more time with the child if she plans to work … Read More...

The Struggle to Preserve Collaborative Law Benefits When Litigating a Divorce

Published in Westchester Bar Journal, Spring/Summer 2007 The Spring/Summer 2007 edition of the Westchester Bar Journal included my introductory article on collaborative law entitled: “Collaborative Law: Divorce Lawyer as Peacemaker.” This follow up article gives my impressions and observations of the collaborative law movement in Westchester, those regarding the avalanche of divorce litigation in Westchester shared by Hon. Anthony A. Scarpino (Supervising Judge of the Matrimonial Part in Westchester who also serves as our Surrogate’s Court Judge), how collaboratively trained lawyers can serve and benefit in the adversarial court system, and an illustrative case study. The case study demonstrates the benefits available in the collaborative process, the struggle to keep those benefits from being eroded and lost during divorce litigation, and how one attorney involved in litigation – with collaborative training – can still have a positive impact, both in the case and the overall court system. Impressions and Observations … Read More...

Collaborative Law: Divorce Lawyer As Peacemaker

Published in the Westchester Bar Journal, Spring/Summer 2006 An army of peacemakers is growing throughout the United States and other countries in the field of divorce law. These peacemakers are collaborative lawyers, and I am one of them. If you are a matrimonial lawyer, a lawyer doing some divorce cases, or a spouse considering a divorce, collaborative law is an important subject that may have a huge impact on your life. Definition Collaborative law is a divorce settlement process. Each party is represented by a collaborative attorney, trained in the disciplines of divorce mediation as well as collaborative law. Rather than starting a divorce action, an initial agreement known as a Participation Agreement is signed by the parties and their attorneys providing, among other things, that the parties shall not go to Court, or threaten to do so, during the settlement process, and the attorneys shall not be the litigators … Read More...

Coping with divorce: 5 ways to deal with stress

Everyone knows that a divorce can be extremely stressful. It is a huge change for the divorcing couple and their children. Here are some ideas to help you keep your sanity during this difficult and painful time:

Everyone knows that a divorce can be extremely stressful. It is a huge change for the divorcing couple and their children. Here are some ideas to help you keep your sanity during this difficult and painful time:

Avoiding a “Fiscal Cliff” Divorce

I remember hearing Diane Sawyer once say that “Every marriage is a foreign country.” I could not agree more. When I look around at all of my married friends and family members, the elements that shape the basis of each relationship and make it “tick” are so completely unique to each couple. It is this uniqueness that makes the concept of formally ending marriages within a uniformly structured legal system so challenging.

Collaboration is not weakness

Prospective divorce clients often have a concern that utilizing the collaborative process to resolve their divorce may put them in a weak position. Such a client may feel that the other spouse took advantage of him/her during the marriage, so why won’t the other spouse do the same in the collaborative divorce process?

Prospective divorce clients often have a concern that utilizing the collaborative process to resolve their divorce may put them in a weak position. Such a client may feel that the other spouse took advantage of him/her during the marriage, so why won’t the other spouse do the same in the collaborative divorce process?

Collaborative Skills Can Settle Your Divorce or Save Your Life

Dr. Marshal B. Rosenberg in his book entitled “Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life,” demonstrates the use of peacemaking techniques known as active listening, reframing or looping. When one is engaged in active listening, one listens very carefully to the speaker, and repeats back the gist of the substance of what was said, as well as the emotion expressed by the speaker.

Dr. Marshal B. Rosenberg in his book entitled “Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life,” demonstrates the use of peacemaking techniques known as active listening, reframing or looping. When one is engaged in active listening, one listens very carefully to the speaker, and repeats back the gist of the substance of what was said, as well as the emotion expressed by the speaker.

Collaborative Divorce Empowers the Client

When I first suggest collaborative divorce to a prospective client, often their initial reaction is fear that suggesting a non-adversarial approach will make them look weak to their spouse. Although they would prefer to work things out reasonably, they are afraid that their spouse will see their reluctance to fight as an opportunity to take unfair advantage of them.

When I first suggest collaborative divorce to a prospective client, often their initial reaction is fear that suggesting a non-adversarial approach will make them look weak to their spouse. Although they would prefer to work things out reasonably, they are afraid that their spouse will see their reluctance to fight as an opportunity to take unfair advantage of them.

Getting Your Spouse on Board with Collaborative

Let’s say you have decided to get a divorce and that the collaborative divorce process makes the most sense to you. But you can’t have a collaborative divorce if your spouse isn’t interested.

Let’s say you have decided to get a divorce and that the collaborative divorce process makes the most sense to you. But you can’t have a collaborative divorce if your spouse isn’t interested.