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Uncontested Divorce without Children in Hawaii – A Simple 3-Step Guide

Posted on September 8, 2011 by mediator

If you and your spouse have no children and have decided to divorce, here is what you can do to get a divorce decree as quickly as possible.

Step 1 – Understand Your Rights and How the Divorce Process Works
Every month, the Hawaii Judiciary offers an excellent and FREE 1-hour seminar on divorce law in Honolulu, presented by family law attorney William C. Darrah.

To find out when the next seminar will be held, click here. If you cannot attend the seminar, you can view it on your computer – click here (you need the latest Adobe Flash Player, which is free).

Step 2 – Agree on How to Divide Your Assets and Debts
Once you and your spouse understand your legal rights, you are ready to discuss how to divide your assets and debts — real estate property, business interests, vehicles, pension plans, credit cards, securities, collections, personal property, and so on. You have three options.

Option #1 – You can reach an agreement on your own. This is the cheapest, but not necessarily the easiest option, if you and your spouse are unable to communicate and negotiate calmly.
Option # 2 – You can reach an agreement with the assistance of a neutral divorce mediator. Keep in mind that nowadays mediation can be conducted not only face-to-face in the mediator’s office, but also online – by email, phone conference or video conference. Online mediation is particularly useful if you and your spouse live in different cities or states, or if you are simply uncomfortable together.
Option 3 – You and your spouse can hire your own attorneys and ask them to negotiate an agreement on your behalf. Needless to say, this is the most expensive option.

Step 3 – Start the Legal Process
After you and your spouse have agreed on how to divide your assets and debts, the last step is to follow the legal process. You have two options.

Option # 1 – You can take care of the paperwork on your own. All you need is an Uncontested Divorce Without Children Packet, which you can pick up at your Family court, or download from the Hawaii Judiciary website.
Option # 2 – You and your spouse can hire a paralegal or an attorney to take care of the paperwork for you.

After you start the legal process, your divorce should be a matter of weeks, depending on your Family Court’s caseload.

Posted in Assets and Debts | Tagged assets division | Leave a comment

Upcoming Free Seminar on Divorce Law in Hawaii – September 22, 2011

Posted on September 1, 2011 by mediator

Mark your calendar. The next 1-hour FREE seminar on Divorce Law in Hawaii will be held Thursday, September 22, 2011 at noon in the Supreme Court courtroom of Ali`iolani Hale, 417 South King Street behind the King Kamehameha statue in downtown Honolulu.

Family law attorney William C. Darrah will give you an overview of custody, visitation, child support, property division, alimony and other issues related to divorce, including mediation. In addition, you will learn:

Where to get more information on divorce law
How the legal process works
How to file for divorce
Where to get the required forms

If you cannot attend the seminar, no problem — you can view it on your computer through the Hawaii Judiciary website – click here.

Posted in Articles | Tagged seminar | Leave a comment

3 Situations in Which Divorce Mediation is Inappropriate

Posted on August 26, 2011 by mediator

It is true that mediation is the best option for spouses who want to divorce without fighting for months in court and without spending a fortune in legal fees. But it is also true that there are 3 situations in which divorce mediation is inappropriate.

1 – One Spouse Is Not Emotionally Ready For Divorce - Given that divorce mediation is not marriage counseling, the first question a mediator asks to husband and wife is: Are you both sure that your marriage is over? If it turns out that one spouse is not emotionally ready to go through the divorce process, he or she will have a hard time making deliberate and informed decisions. Consequently, (a) the other spouse will become more and more frustrated; and (b) sooner or later mediation will fail.

2 – Physical/Verbal Violence or Abuse – These terms need no further explanation.

3 – Power Imbalance – Divorce mediation works best when both spouses share the same financial information and have a basic grasp of their legal rights. Unfortunately, it may happen that one spouse is so distraught by the other spouse’s decision to divorce, that he or she is not only unable to play an equal role during mediation, but is also unwilling to seek professional counsel (e.g. divorce attorney, accountant, financial advisor, real estate appraiser).

Posted in Mediation Process | Tagged process | Leave a comment

The Good Divorce: How to Walk Away Financially Sound and Emotionally Happy

Posted on August 18, 2011 by mediator

Title: The Good Divorce: How to Walk Away Financially Sound and Emotionally Happy
by Raoul Felder and Barbara Victor
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 0312592965

From the Publisher:

There is nothing better than a good marriage. But when a marriage goes bad, there is no better option than divorce to give men and women a chance to start over. Handled wisely, divorce can be a beginning, not an end. It is the doorway to a new life free of hurt, anger, and resentment.

Felder and Victor cover each phase of divorce, from knowing when to call it quits, to choosing a lawyer, to the final decree. They explore prenuptial contracts, mediation, alimony, child custody, same-sex marriage, and life after divorce. They also share some of the most important facts one should know such as:

The first offer a woman gets when divorce negotiations begin is usually the best.
In all divorces, income rather than assets determine who pays what to whom.
Divorce is about compromise. Divorce court is not a boxing ring.

After years of watching how divorce can go tragically wrong, Felder uses his expert knowledge, including case histories from his list of celebrity clients, to suggest how to make divorce more fair, civilized, and painless.

Posted in Finances | Tagged divorce | Leave a comment

Watch How To Split Assets and Debts Through Divorce Mediation – 8-min Video

Posted on July 28, 2011 by mediator

This 8-min video shows how a divorce mediator helps divorcing spouses to work out a mutually acceptable agreement on how to split their assets and debts – quickly and inexpensively, without fighting in court.

Posted in Assets and Debts | Tagged assets division | Leave a comment

Watch What Sitting in a Divorce Mediation Session Looks Like – Two 8-min Videos

Posted on July 28, 2011 by mediator

Barry Davis, a divorce mediator in Manhattan Beach, California, has produced two 8-min videos that give you a pretty accurate idea of what sitting in a divorce mediation session looks like.

Mock Mediation, Part 1 of 2

Mock Mediation, Part 2 of 2

Posted in Mediation Process | Tagged process | Leave a comment

What Papers You Need to File for Divorce in Hawaii

Posted on July 27, 2011 by mediator

The Honolulu-based Law Office of Everett Cuskaden & Associates has produced a series of short and informative videos related to many divorce issues in Hawaii, like:

What papers do I need when I start a divorce case in Hawaii?

Posted in Mediation Process | Tagged divorce | Leave a comment

How Long It Takes to Divorce in Hawaii

Posted on July 27, 2011 by mediator

The Honolulu-based Law Office of Everett Cuskaden & Associates has produced a series of short and informative videos related to many divorce issues in Hawaii, like:

How long does it take for a divorce to be final in Hawaii?

Posted in Mediation Process | Tagged divorce | Leave a comment

Upcoming Free Seminar on Divorce Law in Hawaii – August 11, 2011

Posted on July 26, 2011 by mediator

Mark your calendar. The next 1-hour FREE seminar on Divorce Law in Hawaii will be held Thursday, August 11, 2011 at noon in the Supreme Court courtroom of Ali`iolani Hale, 417 South King Street behind the King Kamehameha statue in downtown Honolulu.

Where to get more information on divorce law
How the legal process works
How to file for divorce
Where to get the required forms

If you cannot attend the seminar, no problem — you can view it on your computer through the Hawaii Judiciary website – click here.

Posted in Articles | Tagged seminar | Leave a comment

How Divorce Mediation Helps Resolve Children’s Medical Care and Insurance Issues

Posted on July 26, 2011 by mediator

When soon-to-be-ex spouses have children, one key issue to resolve in divorce mediation is, of course, their kids’ medical care and insurance. That’s why, before getting together with both parents, I ask each of them to think about and answer a number of questions, like:

Which parent will maintain a medical and dental insurance for the benefit of your children?
How will you and the other parent split medical, dental, vision and drug costs not fully covered by insurance?
What happens if your kids need mental health care?
Which parent will have access to your kids’ medical and other professional records?
Which doctor(s) will your kids see for medical, dental and vision appointments?
Will you notify the other parent every time you get medical attention for your kids, even when it is routine?
How will you make emergency decisions regarding medical care for your kids when they are with you? How quickly will you notify the other parent?

Not surprisingly, when parents reach an agreement on “who is going to do what” about the medical needs of their children, two positive things happen.

First, they feel a bit less worried about their kids’ future. Second, they start learning how to keep separate their role as spouses (which will soon end) from their role as parents (which will never end).

Posted in Parenting Plan | Tagged child support | Leave a comment

Hawaii Divorce Mediation