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Save the Date…

The Second Saturday Divorce Workshop for Women is an excellent way for women who are contemplating divorce or who are in the process of divorce to take control of their lives, learn about their rights, and protect themselves in court.  Speaking at the event will be attorney Robert Borsky, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst Irene Smith and licensed marriage and family therapist Rosalinda O’Neill.

About Robert Borsky
 Robert Borsky has been practicing law since 1981. He limited his practice to Family Law from 1984 through 2001, taking occasional special cases referred by Judges. During this time, he spent four years on the exclusive Gang Intervention Task Force, representing juveniles. From 2001 to 2006, Robert also practiced insurance defense and Workers’ Compensation Law while maintaining his family law practice. Robert Borsky has served as a mediator, arbitrator and Judge pro tem for the Los Angeles Superior Court since 1986. He is a member of the Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and San Fernando Valley Bar Associations. Robert served as President of the Long Beach Bar Association, Family Law Section, 1994-1995 session, and is a past Co-Chair of the California State Child Custody Committee. As an advisor to the Superior Court, he received the first ‘Judge William McFadden Award,’ for his contribution in assembling the first Master List of qualified Child Custody Evaluators, Protocols and Evaluator Retainers. Robert taught college level courses at USC Law School from 1990 to 1998, and has been a guest speaker at State Bar functions, and local County and City functions. Robert has spoken frequently on local radio stations, and has written numerous articles for the bench and bar. Click here to read more about Robert Borsky.

About Irene Smith
 Irene Smith holds the designations of Certified Divorce Financial Analyst™, Certified Financial Planner® and Certified Public Accountant. Irene obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from California State University, Northridge and her MBA degree in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Before starting her financial planning practice in 2001, Irene had an extensive corporate career and developed expertise in the fields of taxation, finance and real estate. After experiencing the impact divorces had on the lives of her family and friends, she decided to obtain additional training as a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) to help divorcing individuals make better informed financial decisions. As a CDFA, Irene analyzes the financial issues of a divorce and informs clients about the long-term effect of financial decisions made today. She can help clients avoid the common pitfalls of divorce by evaluating the tax implications of dividing property and the financial impact of various settlement options.  Click here to read more about Irene Smith.

About Rosalinda O’Neill
 Rosalinda O”Neill holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Miami and a master’s in counseling psychology from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She is a California Licensed Marriage Family Therapist with expertise in addiction, conflict resolution, partner dynamics, relationship, trauma and achieving success. Rosalinda has over 30 years of high level corporate experience. Rosalinda is President and founder of CEO LifeMentor®, Inc since 1984. She is a member of the Physicians’ Diversion Evaluation Committee of the Medical Board of California. Her non-profit leadership involvement includes Rotary International and Rotary Club of Beverly Hills, City of Hope Board of Governors and the American Heart Association, Ventura Division.  Click here to read more about Rosalinda O’Neill.

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admin, June 3rd 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in events

Trends in Family Law

People are astonished to learn that when Ron started practicing law in 1970, the family code was maybe a quarter inch of pages in the California Civil Code.  In the 1980’s the Family Code was two or three hundred pages.  Today it’s 850 pages and growing.  It’s about three inches thick and we get new statues twice a year.  We get new cases, which interpret the code, almost weekly.  Family law is one of the most highly litigated areas in civil law, and one of the most often appealed.  So it’s hard to say what the law is. You can say what it was. You can say what it is today. But who knows what it’s going to be tomorrow? That’s why we need Certified Family Law Specialists who can look at the law and give us an idea, not only of what the law is, but what the trends in the law are.

What are some of the current trends? One thing everyone’s talking about is, what is the future of a young child? If you have young children, the real issue is the movement of people. The economy is definitely changing where people are living. We have people moving to where they grew up or where they have the most family available to assist them. We’re seeing a lot of cases where a parent has to move for financial reasons, and in Los Angeles, even a move across town can completely disrupt a visitation schedule.  If you have to go court because you need to move ten miles for work, it’s up to the judge to decide whether or not the move is in your child’s best interest.  So in some cases the laws have to change to accommodate the current situation and your lawyer needs to know what the most recent changes in your favor are.

We’re seeing exponential growth in what is considered an asset. Thirty years ago it was a mere expectancy to have a pension plan. Today, it’s a major asset and can be missed if you’re not careful.  The same is true for insurance policies. Where once an insurance policy was just a term life policy, it now has some kind of value to it. It never had a value before, but now we can look at it and there are ways to value it.  Another area would be electronics and websites and artificial rights. When you own a copyright or trademark or patent, or you own software or you own music, it’s worth something now.  Once upon a time it wasn’t worth a lot, but look at Michael Jackson. Not a lot of cash flow, but an incredible amount of earning potential in a catalogue of music. We’ve both handled those kinds of cases where someone comes in and they have to value something that’s very difficult to value. It takes expertise outside of even the best lawyer to sit down and run through a catalogue of what those residual rights are worth. You have to have trusted neutral experts who can give you the best valuations.

When Ron started practicing in 1970, mothers always got custody, in every case. The only way a father could get custody was to prove that the mother was unfit. The mother had to be unfit. That law lasted through the eighties. It was taken out in 1976 but the judges continued to follow it as though it were there. It wasn’t until 1982 that we got joint custody. That was a huge change. We’ve seen huge changes in the law, but we still see disparities.

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admin, May 21st 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in worthwhile reading

Not just a lawyer

An article this week in the New Zealand Herald got me thinking.  The author writes, “Lawyers know about conflict and extreme positions and applying rules and measuring out assets and applying formulas and assessing risk. What lawyers don’t seem to know about is that there is really only one answer to everything.  Forgiveness.”

In a way, she’s right.  Yet what she says is basically what those of us practicing collaborative law have been trying to say all along.  Divorce is a crisis of huge proportions.  It’s messy, it’s complicated, it’s painful.  While traditional lawyers are trained to defend their clients according to the laws, collaborative lawyers are trained to help families in crisis reorganize their lives with dignity, honor and peace.  The goal of Collaborative Divorce is to begin as two, end as one, and still feel whole.

Recently I heard a woman say that it was too late to begin the collaborative process because she’d all ready hired a traditional lawyer.  It’s never too late to turn things around and seek peace.

If you or someone you know has questions about the collaborative process, send us an email by clicking here:  Info@TheLawCollaborative.com.  You can also call our toll free number (888) 852-9961, and please feel free to visit our information center.  We’re here to help.

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admin, April 23rd 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in divorce, worthwhile reading

The Seven Options for Divorce: Number Seven

Alec Baldwin wrote a book last year called A Promise To Ourselves, decrying “the corrupt California divorce industry” (his words).  He describes a nightmare divorce that lasted eight years and cost over three million dollars, after a ten-year marriage to Kim Basinger.   That is the seventh option:  Litigation.

A few years ago there was a case all over the newspapers.  A short marriage; a two-year-old child.  Dad was voluntarily giving Mom $50,000 a month in child support, but the mother wasn’t satisfied.  Mother wanted $350,000 a month in child support for the two-year-old.  Why?  Because Dad could afford it.

The couple spent over a million dollars – each – on the Order to Show Cause Hearing.  At the end of the day, after hearing all of the evidence and testimony, after concord jets and race horses and all the other evidence put in for a two-year-old child, the judge raised the support from $50,000 a month to $60,000 a month.   A hundred thousand for a million.  That’s litigation, straight up, all the way.

The good news is that you have options.  You don’t have to spend your life’s savings on legal fees or spend years fighting in court.  It’s your money, it’s your family, it’s your choice.

Option 1:  The Kitchen Table
 Option 2:  Mediation
 Option 3:  Collaborative Divorce
Option 4:  Arbitration
Option 5:  Negotiation in the Shadow of Litigation
Option 6:  Rent-A-Judge
Option 7: Litigation

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admin, April 20th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in divorce

The Seven Options for Divorce: Number Six

Your sixth option is Rent-A-Judge.  If California were a business, it would be bankrupt.  The courts are under-funded and over-crowded.  The lines waiting for trial dates go on and on.  The supervising judge in the family law department is anxious to get rid of cases.  Any time two attorneys stipulate to file an application for Rent-A-Judge, the court will immediately appoint a retired judge in good standing as a judge pro tem*.

But how does it work?  The court appoints a retired Superior Court judge, an appellate court justice, or a Supreme Court justice, and you rent their time.  In most instances they apply the same rules they would if they were sitting in a courtroom.  They may even work in a courtroom.  But if Angelina and Brad Pitt decided to get married and then decided to divorce, they wouldn’t go to court.  They’d hire a retired judge and they’d have their divorce at Chateau Marmont and it would be catered.**

Los Angeles County is host to a “Rent-A-Judge” program wherein retired Superior Court judges are available as arbitrators or will sit as judges on a private basis.  In the “Rent-A-Judge” program you try your case in a conference room just as you would in a court room, but without the delays and interruptions you experience with a judicial officer who is subject to the interruptions of a heavy caseload.  If you know you have a case that will be in court for a long time, this option can save you a lot of money.

Option 1:  The Kitchen Table
 Option 2:  Mediation
 Option 3:  Collaborative Divorce
Option 4:  Arbitration
Option 5:  Negotiation in the Shadow of Litigation
Option 6:  Rent-A-Judge
Option 7: Litigation

* temporary judge

** The Law Collaborative does not represent either of the Jolie Pitt’s and is in no way making any claims about the state of their relationship.  It was a harmless, fictional example.

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admin, April 14th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in divorce

Helping Families, This Saturday

The State Bar Family Law Section CDR/ADR Standing Committee (South)
Dispute Resolution Services, Inc.,
Los Angeles County Bar Association and LACBA Family Law Section
invite you to attend our Spring Symposium

HELPING FAMILIES: New Directions in Consensual Dispute Resolution
Cutting edge theories, techniques, tactics and tools

Saturday, April 10, 2010, 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Pepperdine University School of Law

If you practice mediation or collaborative law, are a mental health professional, coach, financial specialist, or family law attorney with an interest in expanding your knowledge of the latest issues in consensual dispute resolution and in developing your skills to best serve the needs of families, this program is for you:

  • Presiding Judge Marjorie Steinberg will discuss CDR and LA County practices
  • Renowned child custody mediator and child psychologist, Dr. Donald Saposnek will address the ethics and practice of “Bringing Children into the Process”
  • Judge Mark Juhas will discuss the Elkins Report and other responses to the difficulties of bringing children into the process
  • A panel of adult Children of Divorce will present the divorce experience from the eyes of the child
  • Former litigators will share the difficulties and methods of making “The Internal Mind Shift” to practice Consensual Dispute Resolution as their primary practice
  • Experienced CDR providers will give practical tools for keeping CDR on track “Between the Sessions”
  • Financial Experts, Career Counselors and Mental Health Specialists will offer a “Tool Box for Post-Divorce Planning”
  • You will hear from attorneys Leslie Ellen Shear about children’s participation in custody decision-making and Fern Topas Salka about how other jurisdictions are putting families first

The price for this program is $125.00.  Student rates are $45.
A continental breakfast, as well as light snacks, will be provided throughout the event.

To sign up, contact the Los Angeles County Bar Member Services at 213/896-6560 and mention the LACBA program number 10832.  Or go to http://onlinestore.lacba.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=ViewCalendarEvent&CalendarEventID=31<http://onlinestore.lacba.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=ViewCalendarEvent&CalendarEventID=3117>

CLE and BBS credits will be given for attendance.

For more information about this program, go to www.cdr4-10-10event.com or contact co-chair of the State Bar Family Law Section on CDR/ADR Standing Committee (South), Fern Topas Salka, at fern@wgn.net

For more information about this program, go to www.cdr4-10-10event.com or contact co-chair the State Bar Family Law Section on CDR/ADR Standing Committee (South), Fern Topas Salka, at fern@wgn.net.

CLE and BBS credits will be given for attendance.

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admin, April 5th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in events

The Seven Options for Divorce: Number Four

The fourth option for divorce is Arbitration, which is quite different from our first three options.  The Kitchen Table Divorce is casual, creative, quick and inexpensive.  Mediation is a cooperative effort between individuals to reach a mutual agreement based on consensus and compromise.  Collaborative Divorce provides you with a team of professionals that rally and support you, ensuring that all your needs are met.  Though Arbitration is similar to mediation, it is more like litigation in that the parties present their respective positions, evidence, testimony and witnesses to a trial of fact.

Arbitration is a settlement technique in which a third party reviews the case and imposes a decision that is legally binding for both sides.  The arbitrator may be a retired judge, an experienced trial lawyer, or some other professional selected from a panel of competent arbitrators, such as the American Arbitration Association.  Arbitration can be either voluntary or mandatory and can be either binding or non-binding.  The principal distinction between mediation and arbitration is that whereas a mediator will try to help the parties find a middle ground on which to compromise, the (non-binding) arbitrator remains totally removed from the settlement process and will only give a determination of liability.

Arbitration is most commonly used for the resolution of commercial disputes, but it is desirable in divorce cases when agreement cannot be reached but the parties still wish to save the costs and expenses of litigating through the usual judicial system, which has built-in delays and attendant increased costs.  The Los Angeles County Superior Court sponsors an arbitration program and a “Rent-A-Judge program wherein retired Superior Court judges are available as arbitrators, or will sit as judges on a private basis.  But we’ll talk more about Rent-A-Judge in a later post.

Option 1:  The Kitchen Table
 Option 2:  Mediation
 Option 3:  Collaborative Divorce
Option 4:  Arbitration
Option 5:  Negotiation in the Shadow of Litigation
Option 6:  Rent-A-Judge
Option 7: Litigation

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admin, March 30th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in divorce

What’s new at The Law Collaborative

Dear Friends of the Law Collaborative,

This April we celebrate an anniversary. Although Ron and Robert have been practicing family law for a sum total of fifty years or more, this April we celebrate the First Anniversary of The Law Collaborative, LLP, formed by Ron and Robert with the stated aim of ‘Bringing Peace to the Legal Process.’

With this in mind, we offer our readers one simple suggestion for establishing peace in our daily lives.

Thankfulness.

Even in tough times, there is plenty for which to be thankful. If we establish a habit of noting the small things that mark us as fortunate, we cultivate Thankfulness and Appreciation. Establishing these qualities in our lives benefits our health, our relationships, and our general well-being. They also have a way of overflowing into the lives of others. Realize that there is no actual risk attached to exercising Thankfulness and Appreciation, and that such attitudes come with much potential benefit. Thankfulness and Appreciation may be experienced on a daily basis if we apply ourselves to forming the habit.

COLLABORATIVE LAW – The attorney who wishes to employ collaborative law in his practice must have a thorough knowledge of negotiation skills, and understand the underlying theories and strategies of negotiation. Minimum standards for collaborative family law practice are continually expanding, as the work continues to attract more followers throughout the country. The State Bar provides education on an annual basis, making available new tools, technology, and information generated by the professionals engaged in the practice. This month, on Saturday, April 10th, Ron will be the closing speaker at the “Helping Families” conference at Pepperdine Law School in beautiful Malibu. Any professional interested in learning more about collaborative practice would do well to attend. For more information, check www.CDR4-10-10event.com

We would like to share a testimonial, and our new blog –

www.RonandRobertonDivorce.com

Testimonial:

The Law Collaborative is a team of divorce lawyers and paralegals who advocate for the family. I have yet to come across another group of lawyers who take as much care in preserving family values, keeping costs down and protecting children, as the good people at The Law Collaborative. TLC focuses on keeping families together, even in the middle of a crisis. This concept has so enraptured me that I’ve been inspired to write “A Serious Girl,” a blog that focuses on marriage and family. The Law Collaborative opened my eyes to the many options we have for our marriages, our children, and our lives.

Visit Ron and Robert on Divorce on ITunes for additional information. Please call us if you have any questions. We are here to serve you.

Follow us on www.Twitter.com/TLC_Law
Add us on www.Facebook.com/TheLawCollaborative

Best,
Ron Supancic and Robert Borsky

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admin, March 29th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in newsletters

In Plain English

Two children are in the kitchen fighting over an orange.  Their father walks in, sees what’s going on and decides to put an end to it.  He grabs the orange from their hands, puts it on the chopping block, cuts it in half and gives half to his son and half to his daughter.

Both children burst into tears.  Astonished, the father turns to his son and says, “Johnny, why are you crying?”
“I wanted the whole orange!”  Johnny says, sobbing.
“You can’t have the whole orange, there’s only one orange.  You have to share it with your sister.  Stop crying.”  Then he turns to his daughter and says, “Suzy, why are you crying?”
Suzy sniffles and says, “Daddy, I didn’t want the orange at all.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I only wanted the peel.  I need it for an icing recipe for a cake I just baked.  But I have to have the whole peel.”
The father scratches his beard, thoughtfully.  “You only wanted the outside of the orange?”
Suzy nods her head sadly, a fat tear dripping from her chin.  “Yes.”
“Can Johnny have the inside of the orange?”
Her eyes widen and she bounces on her toes.  “Yes!”
“Johnny? Will you give your sister the orange peel if she lets you have the inside of the orange?”
Little Johnny’s face brightens and he clasps his hands together.  “Yes! Of course! I didn’t even want the crummy old peel!”

***

The truth about litigated divorce is that the judge doesn’t have the time, the inclination or the imagination to find out what your interests are.  When you get a traditional, litigated divorce, you get distributive bargaining.  The judge is following the law.  He’s lead by the rules and the statutes.

With Collaborative Divorce, as well as with mediation or The Kitchen Table Divorce, there is creativity and imagination.  Your wants, your needs, and your fears are heard, acknowledged, and understood.  Your spouse’s wants and needs and fears are heard, acknowledged and understood.  It’s impossible to be angry or hateful towards someone you understand.

You went into your marriage with love.  If you’re getting a divorce, you have the opportunity to reorganize your life with love.  It’s your choice.

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admin, March 24th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in divorce

The Seven Options for Divorce: Number Three

The third option for divorce is a Collaborative Divorce.  It’s like mediation on steroids.

Collaborative Divorce is similar to mediation in that it’s protected by the evidence code.  Everything is confidential, privileged, private, and can’t be used in court against you.  What makes it different is that it creates a team of people who will help you get through what can be a very painful process, as painlessly as possible.  Collaborative Divorce calms the waters.  It allows you to take stock in yourself before you get into the process.

In a Collaborative Divorce you are surrounded by a team of experts, appraisers, mental health professionals, actuaries, real estate people, people you need to access so that you can reorganize your life, maximize your tax position, divide your assets peacefully, and become successful co-parents.

When you go to court, you get distributive bargaining.  Judges are limited by the rules, by the statutes, by the code sections.  The judge makes the best decisions in accordance with the law.  When you have a Collaborative Divorce, you make the best decisions for your family.

Option 1:  The Kitchen Table
 Option 2:  Mediation
 Option 3:  Collaborative Divorce
Option 4:  Arbitration
Option 5:  Negotiation in the Shadow of Litigation
Option 6:  Rent-A-Judge
Option 7: Litigation

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admin, March 22nd 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in divorce
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