This book is a developmental model for highly effective practice in the multidisciplinary field of separation and divorce. Written by a clinical social worker and a psychologist, the authors wrote the book as a new point of entry, another vector for understanding how to help when human relationships falter. Separation and and/or divorce is the most hard enough and when children are involved the stakes are immeasurable. This book tries to address all of these issues in a non-confrontation or judgmental manner to help families work together for a successful resolve. There is also a fine line that an attorney must walk in their struggle to do their best with every client without judgment. This aspect is also addressed in the book.

Helping all professionals - lawyers, mental health professionals, financial neutrals, etc. - who practice in the area of Collaborative Divorce, this book explains how marital dynamics (both conscious and unconscious), combined with the traumas of the divorce as well as those from previous situations, will be re-enacted within the Collaborative process. This enlightening book integrates elements of effective psychotherapy into the Collaborative process, although its lessons can be as easily applied to divorce cases handled through litigation and mediation.

This unique new handbook explains this emerging dispute resolution model of collaborative law that is helping family lawyers bring their clients through the divorce passage with integrity and satisfaction. Collaborative Law describes how this approach engages the unique problem-solving skills of lawyers to achieve settlements that creatively and appropriately customize outcomes in the way that few courts are able to achieve. In the collaborative process, fees and costs are minimized, high-quality legal counsel and negotiating assistance are built in, and the ability of divorcing spouses to cooperate and coparent is maximized to a dramatic extent.

Packed with research, insights, and illuminating (and often funny) examples from Paris’s own divorce experience, this book is a “practical and reassuring guide to parting well.” —Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project Engaging and revolutionary, filled with wit, searing honesty, and intimate interviews, Splitopia is a call for a saner, more civil kind of divorce. As Paris reveals, divorce has improved dramatically in recent decades due to changes in laws and family structures, advances in psychology and child development, and a new understanding of the importance of the father. Positive psychology expert and author of Happier, Tal Ben-Shahar, writes that Paris’s “personal insights, stories, and research” create “a smart and interesting guide that can be extremely helpful for those going through divorce.” Reading this book can be the difference between an expensive, ugly battle and a decent divorce, between children sucked under by conflict or happy, healthy kids. This is “a compelling case that it’s high time for a new definition of Happily Ever After—for everyone” (Brigid Schulte, author of Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time).

About the Book “Why don't we spend much more of our time studying the art of negotiating? Perhaps a major reason is that divorce is a process, and not much of our legal education is focused on the process. The goal of this book is to explore in detail the scope of knowledge and skills that would be appropriate for professionals who are involved in the negotiation of divorce agreements. This is a book about negotiating! And since all of this negotiating takes place in the context of the divorce process, this is also a book about the divorce process!” - L.D. Gaughan Negotiating Strategies and Challenges in the Divorce Process represents the professional legacy of my father, Lawrence D. Gaughan, a monumental pioneer in the field of family law and mediation. Completed months before my father’s death and published posthumously, this book serves as an academic textbook, as well as a developmental guide for professionals. I remember around the time my father turned 65, I asked him when he planned to write a book related to his life’s work. His response was, “I will think about it when I get closer to retirement.” Twenty years later, with his practice finally starting to wind down, he announced that he had completed the final edit of his book. Just a few short months after that, he was suddenly stricken with aggressive metastasized melanoma. He passed away on June 23rd, 2019. But, my father lives on in the artful illustrations of his brilliant ideas interwoven and crafted into these chapters. I am honored that, in his final wishes, he entrusted me with the task of making sure his contribution to the field of family law was properly published and promoted. Anyone, from the lay reader to the family law professional, will find this book to be enlightening. It is a thoroughly informative, insightful, and creative examination of how the art of negotiation can be used most effectively in the divorce process.” - W. Lawrence Gaughan (son of Lawrence D. Gaughan) About the Author Lawrence D. Gaughan was the founder and Professional Director of Family Mediation of Greater Washington. He earned a J.D. from the University of Montana (1957) and an LL.M. from the University of Virginia (1964). L.D. Gaughan practiced family law and family mediation in Northern Virginia from 1979 until his death in 2019. He was also a law professor at the University of Virginia, Washington & Lee University and George Mason University law schools. In 1979-80, L.D. Gaughan took a sabbatical from W&L to study family systems with Murray Bowen, M.D., and his staff in the Department of Psychiatry at Georgetown University. He was a member of the Virginia State Bar since 1967. From 1975-1999 he gave the annual keynote lecture on Family Law at the Virginia State Bar Association Conference. As an attorney, L.D. Gaughan consistently received the highest ratings for both legal ability and ethical standards (“AVR PreeminentTM") from Martindale-Hubbell. He was also rated 10 out of 10 by Awo. He was a founding member of the Professional Mediation Board of Standards, a 501(C)(3) board formed to frame and implement standards for professional family mediators, and was certified for collaborative practice. In September 2017, L.D. Gaughan received the Distinguished Mediator of the Year award from the Virginia Mediation Network at its annual conference in Richmond. In 2019, at their convention in Boston, he was posthumously recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Professional Family Mediators.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Over a million copies sold! “An eminently practical guide to an emotionally intelligent—and long-lasting—marriage.”—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work has revolutionized the way we understand, repair, and strengthen marriages. John Gottman’s unprecedented study of couples over a period of years has allowed him to observe the habits that can make—and break—a marriage. Here is the culmination of that work: the seven principles that guide couples on a path toward a harmonious and long-lasting relationship. Straightforward yet profound, these principles teach partners new approaches for resolving conflicts, creating new common ground, and achieving greater levels of intimacy. Gottman offers strategies and resources to help couples collaborate more effectively to resolve any problem, whether dealing with issues related to sex, money, religion, work, family, or anything else. Packed with new exercises and the latest research out of the esteemed Gottman Institute, this revised edition of The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work is the definitive guide for anyone who wants their relationship to attain its highest potential.

Previous edition, 1st, published in 1995.