As you get ready to send your child to college for the first time, you’re likely overwhelmed with emotion. As a mother and stepmother of teenagers and young adults, I know these feelings too well. My husband and I are in the process of sending our third child into his freshman year of college. We have two older children as well, so this isn’t our first experience. While the personal emotions of seeing your children grow up and leave home do not get easier, there are things you can do to make the process easier in terms of legal and financial issues. 

College planning with your children can be difficult and time consuming. If you’re a divorced parent, there’s another layer of complexity associated with the process. As a mother of two and stepmother of three, I can relate. My husband and I just went through this earlier this year – for the third and fourth time - with my son and his middle son.

Most parents can probably agree that this summer will be unlike any other. Families nationwide will navigate how to manage life as we know it in the mid, and maybe post, COVID-19 world. All of this comes as the school year winds down, states begin to reopen, and traveling plans are executed. This is bound to make the summer months even more challenging for divorced parents and co-parents.

The summer season is an opportunity for families to spend time together to have fun and unwind. For co-parents and divorced parents, it takes a lot of organization and coordination to get to the relaxation part. As a divorce mediation and collaborative family law attorney who is also a mother and stepmother, I know the ins and outs of healthy co-parenting.

While divorce can be hard, co-parenting can often be harder. As a divorce mediation and collaborative family law attorney, I offer co-parenting guidance for families that are looking to create a suitable parenting agreement for all parties involved. I have first-hand experience with being a co-parent. As a mother and stepmother, I know how important it is to have a supportive and helpful parenting partner.

January is International Child-Centered Divorce Awareness Month. This annual recognition aims to raise awareness of the impact divorce can cause on children and how to prevent unnecessary emotional and psychological trauma. Each year, the awareness month becomes more popular – it’s now in its 14^th year and is signified around the world.