Advocating for Your Mental Health as You go Through a Divorce is Really Important!

Advocating for Your Mental Health as You go Through a Divorce is Really Important!

Publisher’s Note: May is Mental Health Awareness month. It has been observed in the United States in May since 1949. With all that is going on in the world we live in today, there are significant challenges to everyone’s mental health. Those include, dealing with increased anxiety leading to depression and burnout, often fueled by factors like economic instability and social isolation. For those of you going through a divorce this period in your life can be overwhelming and stressful, and it is so important that you take steps to prioritize yourself and your mental health wellbeing. I posted this article back in July of 2023, but I have updated it a bit and believe it is worth resharing especially during Mental Health Awareness Month.

May is Mental Health Awareness month. It is Important to Safeguard Your Mental Health during Your Divorce Process!

… View Full Article → “Advocating for Your Mental Health as You go Through a Divorce is Really Important!”

A Young Lawyer Reflects About Having Grown Up in the Midst of a Contentious Divorce – Constant Arguing is Damaging!

A child sitting between arguing parents, showing the emotional effects of divorce on children

Reducing the Long-Term Effects of Divorce on Children Through Cooperative Co-Parenting

PUBLISHER’S NOTE:
I frequently receive comments about this blog post. It was written in the spring of 2023 by Shane McDonough, who was at that time a third year law student at the University of Dayton School of Law. Shane did a great job externing for our firm, and is now enjoying a fine legal career in Chicago. Well done Shane, and it was great chatting with you this week!

Understanding the Emotional Effects of Divorce on Children

If there is one positive aspect of my parents’ divorce, it is that I was too young to understand the effects of divorce on children. I was around two and a half years old when my parents were divorced.

Although I have no recollection of the divorce proceedings or the ensuing months following the proceedings, one of my first memories is a supervised visitation meeting with my dad.… View Full Article → “A Young Lawyer Reflects About Having Grown Up in the Midst of a Contentious Divorce – Constant Arguing is Damaging!”

Discovery Basics in an Ohio Divorce

discovery divorce

Why is Discovery in Ohio Divorce So Confusing? Here are the First Steps you Should Take!

Discovery in a divorce or dissolution case can be a confusing part of the litigation process. It occurs in the initial pre-trial aspect of the proceeding. The ultimate purpose or goal of discovery is to make sure that both sides have all the relevant information about the factual particulars of the case. It is designed to avoid “trial by ambush” and to encourage negotiations between the lawyers after having a full understanding of all potential evidence. Ohio law allows for attorneys to request and receive almost anything which “could” lead to admissible evidence at trial. So, the scope of permissible discovery is very broad!

I. Discovery/Disclosure in a DISSOLUTION:

In a dissolution action, the entire proceeding is premised on each party making a complete disclosure of all his/her assets and liabilities to the other. The “discovery” is intended to be informal and cooperative as both parties need to come to a 100% agreement on all issues before the action is even filed with the Court.… View Full Article → “Discovery Basics in an Ohio Divorce”

Deepfakes: A Popular Growing Trend with Costly Risks to the Domestic Relations Sphere

deepfakes social media

The Origin of Deepfakes

The term “deepfake” was coined in 2017 by a Reddit user who originally used the online platform to share pornographic videos using face-swapping technology. Fast forward to 2021 and deepfakes have long since transcended the pornographic world to now include many other forms of trickery. Generally, deepfakes  are defined as a kind of media manipulation that includes a person’s likeness in a picture or video being swapped with another’s.

Recent examples of popular deepfakes include a Hulu commercial attaching Baker Mayfield’s voice to a look-alike’s body and a highly edited video of Mark Zuckerberg touting how great it is to own people’s data. Of course, neither represent real and honest media depictions of the actors portrayed, but nonetheless each illustrates the positive and negative impacts of deepfake technology.

A link to the Hulu commercial can be found here.

While deepfake creation can be done on a highly technical scale with complex synthetic media tools, not all designs require intense skill or training.… View Full Article → “Deepfakes: A Popular Growing Trend with Costly Risks to the Domestic Relations Sphere”

Blast From The Past: How to Ask for a Prenuptial and Avoid a Break-Up!

Blast from the past 13 years Ohio Family Law Blog

PUBLISHERS NOTE: More people are executing prenuptial agreements than ever before. Millennials are getting married at a later age, many have a lot of student debt and more assets.  The COVID-19 pandemic is causing people to be more aware of their mortality and planning for the future. I thought reposting this “blast from the past” from June 17, 2017, about prenuptial agreements was appropriate.

Prenuptial Agreements have increased in recent years says study…but why?

Prenuptial agreements are daunting to bring up to one’s significant other and many individuals fear bringing up the topic. Many individuals worry that the prenuptial discussion will cause problems, such as making their significant other feel as if they are not trusted or as if there is an anticipation of a divorce in Ohio via a lack of commitment. However, research has shown that having a prenuptial agreement  may in fact strengthen a relationship. Did you know that According to a survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), 63 percent of divorce attorneys say they’ve seen an increase in prenuptial agreementsrecent years?… View Full Article → “Blast From The Past: How to Ask for a Prenuptial and Avoid a Break-Up!”

Divorce: New Sesame Street Videos Help Kids Deal with Trauma

toddler kissing Sesame Street Elmo

For decades, Sesame Street has played on TV’s across the country, teaching children their ABC’s and 123’s, while also broadening their vocabulary, and increasing other academic skills. But now, Sesame Street is focused on another issue: helping children cope with traumatic experiences.

Children and Traumatic Experiences

A study conducted in 2016 found that nearly half of the children in the United States have experienced at least one traumatic or stressful event, including the death of a loved one, abuse, and divorce. The study also found that 1 in 5 of these children has experienced these events on more than one occasion. Click here to read the study.

How Can Sesame Street Help Children With Traumatic Experiences?

Children who experience traumatic experiences are more likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and even substance abuse. Early exposure to traumatic events affects the neurodevelopment of a child, which changes the way that they respond to stress and other experiences.… View Full Article → “Divorce: New Sesame Street Videos Help Kids Deal with Trauma”

Do you Believe in Magic?

Some weeks ago, I tuned into an NPR radio interview with Penn and Teller, those amazing magicians/entertainers who have for decades defied logic and fooled us with their brilliant illusions.

What caught my interest was the oddity of the interview. The dynamic duo of Penn and Teller were being interviewed separately. This intrigued me as I wondered how NPR would handle empty radio air space if the usually silent Raymond Teller continued to be mute.

Luckily, he did not. And among the thought provoking things he had to say was this, “Nothing fools you better than the lie you tell yourself.” Of course, he was talking about magic. But I was thinking about denial. It never occurred to me before that moment that magic has so much in common with denial. The point of intersection is simple-We WANT to believe.

We know when something is “off”; maybe we can’t see it, but we feel it.… View Full Article → “Do you Believe in Magic?”

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